Holy Martyr Child Gabriel of Bialystok (Zabludovsky)

Gabriel of Bialystok (Zabludovsky) was born on March 22 (April 2), 1684 in the village of Zverki, near the town of Zabludov near Bialystok (now Poland) into a family of poor Orthodox peasants Peter and Anastasia Gavdel. The boy's parents sacredly and inviolably preserved the Orthodox faith, adopted from their ancestors, despite all the oppression to which residents who did not want to accept the union were subjected. Little Gabriel was baptized and raised in the rules of holy Orthodoxy.

On April 11, 1690, when baby Gabriel had just turned 6 years old, disaster struck. The boy's father went to work in the field, his wife brought him lunch at noon, leaving the child unattended at home. She was completely calm, since everyone in the village knew each other, and all the neighbors loved little Gabriel.

Icon of the infant martyr Gabriel of Bialystok

A stranger-tenant who lived in Zverki, a certain Shutko, caressed the boy and secretly took him to Bialystok. The innocent child was terribly tortured, he was crucified like our Lord Jesus Christ, his little body was pricked, and the blood of the martyr was bled drop by drop for nine days. The villain Shutko secretly brought the murdered baby and abandoned him at the edge of the forest near his native village. Stray dogs gathered around the sufferer's body, driving away predatory animals and birds from him. For nine days a pack of dogs guarded the baby's body. By their barking, the unfortunate parents found the incorrupt, mutilated corpse of their son, and the dogs, having fulfilled their duty, went into the forest.

The case of the murder of baby Gabriel was tried in Zabludov's court, and the criminals received their well-deserved punishment. Little Gabriel was buried near the cemetery church in Zverki. Both children and adults often came to the grave; grace, peace and quiet emanated from the modest mound, and troubles and illnesses subsided. 30 years later there was a cholera epidemic in the village, and there were many deaths. During their burial, Gabriel's coffin was accidentally touched, and it was discovered that his body had not decayed. The boy’s incorrupt relics were transferred to a crypt under the Orthodox church in Zverki.

Miracles began to occur at the relics of the martyr Gabriel. The epidemic stopped, the sick and the possessed recovered. In 1746, the church in Zverki burned down, but the holy remains survived, only one handle was burnt. When the shrine was carried in a religious procession to the Holy Trinity Zabludovsky Monastery, the residents saw a miracle - the burnt hand was covered with new skin, and along the way numerous healings of sick children and young men took place. By the time the relics of St. Gabriel were transferred to Zabludov, the union began to intensify in the region, and the relics of the infant martyr, with the permission of the Patriarch of Constantinople and Metropolitan of Kyiv were transferred to the Slutsk Holy Trinity Monastery. It was a reliable stronghold of Orthodoxy. Hundreds and thousands of pilgrims flocked to the relics, numerous miracles and healings took place there.

In 1820, the canonization of the holy martyr baby Gabriel took place in Slutsk. Gradually, the veneration of the martyr baby Gabriel was established throughout Russian Empire. He began to be revered by the Orthodox as the patron saint of children and youth. His holy relics changed their location several times. From 1944 to 1992 they were kept in the Grodno Intercession Church, from where they were solemnly transferred to St. Nicholas Cathedral in Bialystok (Poland).
Parishioner of the Saint's Church St. Seraphim Sarovsky, Orthodox journalist Ksenia Aleksandrovna Avdeeva, brought as a gift from Poland a wonderful icon of the holy martyr baby Gabriel with a piece of relics, and wrote a book about the patron saint of children and youth. Nowadays, residents of the village of Snegiri and all parishioners of the temple can ask for the help and intercession of this saint.

HOLY MARTYRUS OF THE INFANT GABRIEL,

PRAY TO GOD FOR US!

In the host of saints of the Orthodox Church, countable only by the Lord, we find the names of many martyrs who voluntarily offered themselves as a “living sacrifice.” It is they who are ready to be completely devoted to Christ even to death, they testified as martyrs to Him Who is “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6), about lasting value life in Christ and with Christ.
Among the martyrs of all times, a certain place in Orthodox calendar occupied by children. Since the time of the Maccabee martyrs and the 14 thousand infants exterminated by Herod in Bethlehem, Orthodox piety has been especially loving towards children who became victims of sudden violent death. In their case, sacrificial death was combined with the purity of their innocence. Thus, youths and infants who were not yet fully mature in the physical sense became the true “salt of the earth” and “light of the world” (Matt. 5:13-14).
Hence the numbering of many infants and youths who were tortured for their faith by pagans in the first centuries of Christianity, as well as those who subsequently suffered from other faiths, heterodox and atheists, among the saints. Hence the popular veneration and subsequent canonization of the martyr baby Gabriel, named Bialystok, Zabludov and Slutsk.
The personality of the holy child Gabriel is an image of modern martyrdom. He does not simply suffer before the court of pagans or heretics for his profession of faith, but suffers innocently and dies without resisting evil, in order to thus follow the example of Christ. He is the purest youth (as it is sung in the akathist), the fruit of a calm and even joyful readiness to endure suffering “even to the point of death” for the sake of the One who suffered for us. Together with the earthly martyrdom of the baby Gabriel and his simultaneous birth to a new one, better life we have received a special intercessor for us sinners before the throne of the Most High.
The martyr baby Gabriel was born, lived and suffered in what is now Poland. Therefore, the Polish Orthodox Church treats him with special veneration. Orthodox churches are built in his honor, he is heavenly patron Brotherhood of Orthodox Youth in Poland, and is also considered a special healer of children. After historically determined ups and downs in the veneration of the Holy Martyr, his memory is now also celebrated by all Orthodox Churches.
The Holy Martyr Child Gabriel of Bialystok (Zabludovsky, Slutsky) was born on March 22, 1684 in the village of Zverki, Zabludovsky parish, Bialystok district, Grodno province. He was the son of pious peasants Peter and Anastasia Govdel. He was baptized with the name of the Holy Archangel Gabriel in the church of the then Holy Dormition Zabludovsky Monastery, one of the few monasteries in this part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth that at that time remained faithful to Orthodoxy.
Baby Gabriel was distinguished from other children by qualities of his soul that were unusual for his age. He grew up as a meek and gentle child. There was a noticeable tendency in him towards prayer and solitude rather than towards children's amusements and games. His parents, despite the oppression to which the Orthodox of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth were then subjected, who did not want to accept the Union of Brest, sacredly preserved the Orthodox faith. Big influence The holy baby Gabriel was influenced by the proximity of the monastery, in which during divine services he matured spiritually, learned to pray and came to know God.
In 1690, the Govdel family suffered great grief. An innocent boy became a victim of savagery. On April 11, when the mother of six-year-old Gabriel brought lunch to her husband in the field, a tenant from the village of Shutko climbed into the house. He caressed the child and secretly took him to Bialystok, where the baby was tortured. First they put him in the basement, where they pierced his side with sharp instruments to let out blood. After this, the martyr was crucified on a cross installed in a trough and stabbed with sharp instruments to release the remaining blood. On the ninth day the child died.
The executioners secretly took the lifeless body into the field and threw it at the edge of the forest near the village of Zverki. The holiday of Holy Easter was approaching. Hungry dogs ran to the body, birds of prey circled over it, but the dogs not only did not tear it to pieces, but even protected the body from the birds. The villagers heard the barking and discovered the victim of the brutality. The fanatics were found and punished, and a corresponding entry was left in the memoirs of the Zabludov city government.
At a gathering of people deeply moved by such atrocity, the body of the tortured baby Gabriel was interred near the cemetery church in Zverki, where it remained for about 30 years.
At the beginning of the 18th century, a pestilence swept across the entire territory of the Bialystok district. There was barely time to bury people. In the village of Zverki, they tried to bury dead children closer to the grave of the baby Gabriel, feeling the unusual grace of this place. One day in 1720, during a burial, the martyr’s coffin was accidentally touched. To the greatest surprise, his body was found incorrupt. The news of this spread with lightning speed among the Orthodox believing people, strengthening the veneration of the martyr. Tradition connects with this event many healings that took place at the saint’s grave and the end of the epidemic, which served as a reason for venerating the martyr. The found relics were reverently transferred to the crypt under the temple in the village of Zverki.
In 1746, the village church in Zverki burned down, but the relics remained intact. Only the handle was partially burned, and even that, undoubtedly, happened according to God’s providence, for the sake of strengthening faith and piety among the Orthodox people. When the holy relics were transferred to the Zabludovsky Monastery, the hand miraculously healed and became covered with skin again.
In 1752, Archimandrite Dosifei (Golyakhovsky) of the Slutsk Monastery, vicar of the Kyiv Metropolitan, composed a troparion and kontakion for the baby.
On May 9, 1755, in view of the tense situation caused by external circumstances and the hostility of the heterodox population, with the blessing of the Kyiv Metropolitan, Archimandrite Michael (Kozachinsky) transferred the relics of the holy martyr baby Gabriel to the Slutsk Holy Trinity Monastery of the Minsk province and composed a poetic story about the baby martyr Gabriel. The procession with the holy relics, which were carried in shrines in the hands, majestically walked more than 300 miles. The relics of the baby martyr Gabriel lay completely open in the shrine. Both hands of the baby were holding a small pectoral cross. Fingers are punctured, there are lacerations on the body.
In 1820, the baby Gabriel was canonized as a Russian saint. Orthodox Church.
Along with the growing glory of the infant martyr Gabriel and his expanding veneration, Orthodox Christians tried to decorate the shrine with his holy relics in a special way. In 1897, a new silver shrine was made using voluntary donations.
In 1908, at the Uspenskaya printing house Pochaev Lavra The Service to the Holy Martyr Infant Gabriel, compiled by Archbishop Anthony (Khrapovitsky) of Volyn and Zhitomir, was published.
In the same year, Bishop Michael of Grodno and Brest, together with Bishop Vladimir of Bialystok, decided to transfer from Slutsk part of the relics of the holy martyr baby Gabriel to the city of Bialystok.
The transfer of the cross and reliquary, in which the relics of the holy martyr rested until 1897, began on May 31st. The shrines were moved from the city of Slutsk to the Zhirovitsky Monastery of the Assumption Mother of God. From June 1 to June 12, through the villages of Yaluvka, Novaya Wola, Polota, Zabludov, Zverki and Doylidy, the holy relics were transferred from the Zhirovitsky Monastery to Bialystok. Thus, after almost 150 years, the shrine returned to its homeland.
A piece of the holy relics of the martyr baby Gabriel was in the St. Nicholas Cathedral in the city of Bialystok until 1912, until it was transferred to the Annunciation Monastery in Suprasl.
In Slutsk, where the relics remained, there was a special book in which miraculous cases known to the spiritual and state authorities were recorded related to the relics of the holy martyr baby Gabriel located there. National veneration of the martyr baby Gabriel was established throughout the Russian Empire. On the day of remembrance of the saint, thousands of pilgrims gathered from all over the country to his resting place.
In 1915, during the First World War, Bishop Vladimir of Bialystok took a wooden shrine with a particle of the holy relics of the martyr baby Gabriel to Moscow and temporarily placed it in the Intercession Cathedral on Red Square.
After the October Revolution of 1917, bloody persecution of Orthodox Christians began in Russia.
The enemies of Christ were disturbed by the memory of the child who resembled Him. Thus, the Hieromartyr John Vostorgov, rector of the Moscow Intercession Cathedral on Red Square, who defended his memory from desecration, was brought in by the Bolsheviks as an accused and was subsequently shot.
By the decision of the Council of People's Commissars on July 29, 1920, it was decided: “to carry out in a planned and consistent manner the complete liquidation of relics in the territory...”. This order did not bypass the holy relics of the martyr baby Gabriel.
In the 30s, the Trinity Slutsk Monastery, where the relics were still kept, was closed, and the holy relics of the martyr were transferred to the Museum of Atheism in Minsk.
During the Second World War, repression began to weaken and in 1942, in the chaos of military confusion, the Orthodox residents of Minsk managed to place the holy relics of the martyr baby Gabriel in a wooden shrine in the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Lord in Minsk, the rector of which was Metropolitan Panteleimon (Rozhnovsky).
In 1943, news of the discovery of holy relics in the Minsk Cathedral reached the rector of the Church of the Nativity Holy Mother of God in the village of Svislochi, father Aleskiy Znosko. Father Alexy for a short time wrote an akathist to the holy martyr Gabriel, using more than 40 akathists who served as a model for him. The Akathist was approved by the church authorities in 1943-1944 and introduced into church use.
On July 9-10, 1944, the holy relics were transferred from Minsk to Grodno, to the Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God, where they remained until September 21, 1992.
The post-war fate of this shrine is shrouded in mystery. Over the past few decades, the holy relics have been kept in the dungeons of the Grodno church, far from those who could desecrate them. The holy relics were kept in a damp basement under extremely unfavorable conditions. However, they were not harmed, which once again testifies to their holiness.
On September 21-22, 1992, with the blessing of Archbishops Valentin of Grodno and Volkovysk and Savva of Bialystok and Gdansk (now Metropolitan of Warsaw and All Poland), the holy relics were transferred in the first religious procession since 1944 from the Grodno Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, where they were kept, to St. Nicholas Cathedral in Bialystok. They were met at the Belarusian-Polish border by several thousand believers, who accompanied the relics all the way to Bialystok through all the cities and villages. The relics of the baby martyr Gabriel were transported by car in an oak shrine. Along the way, believers showered her with flowers. A stop was made in every city or village where there was a temple. The holy relics were brought with a procession to the temple, where prayer services and akathists were served. Believers venerated the shrine, staying overnight in the temple to pray before the holy relics of the baby Gabriel.
In Bialystok itself, the holy relics were met on the outskirts of the city and carried through the main streets in a procession to St. Nicholas Cathedral. The religious procession lasted about three hours. About 60 thousand people took part in it. Traffic on the streets was stopped. Even representatives of secular authorities greeted the religious procession.
The service in St. Nicholas Cathedral lasted all night. On the morning of September 27, a service was also served. Divine Liturgy. After her, the holy relics of the baby martyr Gabriel were carried around the temple in a procession of the cross and placed in the right aisle of the cathedral. Every week on Tuesdays, an akathist to the martyr Gabriel is read before the shrine with holy relics. In Poland, the martyr baby Gabriel is revered by Orthodox Christians as the patron saint of children and youth.
Since 1993, every year on May 2-3, according to the new style, the relics of the baby Gabriel are transferred from Bialystok to Zabludov, where, with an open shrine, believers spend the whole night in worship. The relics are brought by car to the outskirts of Zabludov and from there the believers carry them in their arms to the Zabludov temple. On the occasion of the holiday of May 2, a pilgrimage departs from Bialystok procession in Zabludov.
The memory of the martyr baby Gabriel is celebrated: April 20\May 3 (on the anniversary of his martyrdom), on the 3rd week after Pentecost (the Council of Belarusian Saints), and in the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church also on September 9\22 (on the anniversary of his discovery and transference). relics from Grodno to Bialystok). In the past, his memory was also celebrated on the Day of the Holy Spirit.

Holy Martyr Gabriel, pray to God for us! Amen

The church is already more than three centuries honors the memory of the innocent baby Gabriel, who suffered on the cross. According to the chronicle of the Slutsk Holy Trinity Monastery, Gabriel was born on March 22, 1684 in the village of Zverki near Bialystok to pious peasants Peter and Anastasia. The boy grew up meek, gentle, and had a noticeable tendency toward contemplative solitude.

The landowner leased the lands of this village (now it is Poland) to one Jew, who, in essence, controlled the fate of all the peasants. They endured and gave him most of their harvest. In every nation there are smart and stupid, evil and kind people - this is absolutely indisputable. So this Jewish tenant turned out to be a villain.

He kidnapped six-year-old Gavryusha and crucified him on the cross on Friday Holy Week, it was April 11, 1690. The Jew kidnapped the boy when the mother brought lunch to her husband, Gavryusha’s father, in the field.

The killer caressed the child and secretly took him to Bialy Stok, where the baby was tortured by his accomplices and comrades-in-arms. The Jews imprisoned the baby Gabriel in a basement, where, using sharp instruments, they pierced his side to release blood. After which the infant martyr was crucified on a cross placed in a trough to collect his blood and stabbed with sharp instruments to release the remaining blood. After bleeding completely, the baby was killed.

After this, the Jews secretly took his lifeless body into the field and threw it at the edge of the forest, near the village of Zverki. Hungry dogs ran to the body, birds of prey circled over it, but the dogs not only did not tear it to pieces, but even protected it from the birds. Nine days after the murder, the Orthodox residents of Zverki, through the incessant barking of dogs, discovered the incorrupt body of the martyr baby Gabriel.

During the investigation, the circumstances became clear ritual murder which the Jews committed, they were found and punished; a corresponding entry was left in the memoirs of the Zabludov city government.

Prominent theologian and historian Filaret (Gumilevsky), Archbishop of Chernigov (+1866) in famous work“Biographies of Russian saints revered by the Orthodox Church” wrote on April 20:

“The Jew Shutko, the tenant of Zverkov, caressed the child, took him into his house and took him to Bely Stok; here the Jews who had come together tortured the boy without mercy. Having carried him into a dark place, they crucified him and drew blood from his side, then stabbed him with various instruments until "They didn't let all the blood out, but they threw the dead body into the field. From the wound in the side and other signs, it was obvious that the blood was released from the boy through Jewish fanaticism. The Jews were convicted of the crime in court."

The same book contains a drawing by academician of painting F. Solntsev, which depicts the torment of the baby Gabriel. The infant martyr is depicted crucified on a large cross. The cross is fixed in a trough into which blood flows in streams from wounds from nails in the hands, feet and from the punctured body. The whole body is covered in bloody stains, the shirt is pulled down to the waist, the trough is placed on a stand. On the floor are: a hammer, pliers, two knives; one of them has a sharp end.

A detailed description of the torment of baby Gabriel can also be read in the book “Holy Youth. Stories about holy children and the childhood and adolescence of saints” (published in 1913, republished by the International Publishing Center of Orthodox Literature in 1994).

It says: “The Jews crucified the six-year-old Orthodox baby Gabriel. He was pierced in the side, and blood was drawn out of him drop by drop. According to a belief circulating among Christians and, unfortunately, confirmed by numerous cases, some savage Jewish sects use the blood of innocent Christian babies for preparing unleavened bread. For this purpose, a victim is planned in advance, usually a child from a poor family. The Jews lure him to themselves and, holding him standing and gagging him, prick him with sharp instruments so that all the blood flows out of his veins. Then, bloodless, they kill him and are thrown unburied."

The baby Gabriel clearly suffered for Christ because he suffered martyrdom.

On the ninth day, the child died; he was thrown into a field at the edge of the forest near the village of Zverki. The body of the infant martyr Gabriel was thrown into a field to be devoured by birds. The hungry dogs that found the body not only did not tear it to pieces, but even protected it from birds of prey. Hearing the barking of dogs, the villagers came, found the body of the martyr and recognized that the baby had died as a result of ritual murder.

The body of the tortured Gabriel, in front of a large crowd of people deeply moved by such atrocity, was buried near the temple. The monks of the nearby Zabludovsky Monastery witnessed the martyrdom of Gabriel and decided that he, as a martyr, was worthy of burial not in the village cemetery, but within the walls of the monastery. Gavryusha was buried. And then there was a pogrom. The landowner was forced to change the tenant. But they didn’t kill him, they didn’t even try him, it seems. In any case, there is no mention of this anywhere. It is said that he simply fled from these places.

Miracles were performed at the grave of the holy martyr. There, both adults and children received healing from sorrows and illnesses. 30 years after the death of the relics of St. Gabriel remained incorrupt. In 1746, the temple in which the baby was buried burned down, but the holy relics survived. The handle was partially burned, but when the holy relics were transferred to the monastery, the handle miraculously healed and was covered with skin again.

In 1775, the shrine with the relics of the martyr Gabriel was placed in the church of the Holy Trinity Monastery in Slutsk with the blessing of the rector of the monastery, Archimandrite Mikhail Kazachinsky. On May 9, 1755, due to the tense situation caused by external circumstances and the hostility of the heterodox population, with the blessing of the Kiev Metropolitan, Archimandrite Michael (Kozachinsky) transferred the relics of the Holy Martyr Baby Gabriel to the Slutsk Holy Trinity Monastery in the Minsk province (one of the most important centers of Orthodoxy in the Western region ).

He composed a poetic narrative about the infant martyr Gabriel, in which there were words as if put into the mouth of the infant martyr himself, informing people of his torment: “When the Jews came running from other places, / They began to torture me inhumanly there, / They carried me into a dark basement to suffer / And, crucified on the cross, they let out the blood from my side, / Then they pricked my whole body, / Until it had even a drop of blood.”

Procession of the Cross with St. with relics - the reliquary was carried in their hands - they majestically walked more than 300 miles. Numerous Orthodox people from far and near places came to the road along which the religious procession took place. Orthodox Christians, kneeling on both sides of the road, with tears in their eyes asked the saint for help and to give them strength to preserve the faith of their fathers, Holy Orthodoxy.

The relics of the baby martyr Gabriel lay completely open in the shrine. Both hands of the baby held a small pectoral cross. Fingers are punctured, there are lacerations on the body. There was a board hanging near the shrine, and on it in Church Slavonic and Polish there was an inscription: “The relics of the baby Gabriel Gavdelyuchenko from the village of Zverki, Zabludovsky County, born on March 22, 1684, and tortured to death by the Jews in Bely Stok on April 20, 1690. About this "Whoever wants more extensive information is sent to the books of the righteous of Magdeburg Slutsk. May 1755, 9 days, for the successful reign of the most illustrious Prince Jerome." In 1820, the martyr baby Gabriel was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1855, a prayer to the infant martyr Gabriel was composed by Abbot Modest, rector of the Slutsk Seminary.

In 1891, an icon of the holy infant martyr was placed over the relics of the saint, a gift from I.P. Trutnev, a copy of the icon located in the iconostasis of the large monastery Church of the Holy Spirit. In 1893, the authorities of the Lithuanian diocese ordered that all churches in the province should have icons of the holy martyr baby Gabriel. This was the image of the holy martyr baby Gabriel, known to us, he is depicted with his hands folded on a cross and placed on his chest, or holding a cross in his hands, in simple clothes belted with a cord, without shoes.

Above the relics of the holy martyr baby Gabriel burned an unquenchable lamp of pure silver, a gift from Archbishop Anthony (Khrapovitsky) of Volyn. Along with the growing glory of the infant martyr Gabriel and his expanding veneration, the Orthodox tried to decorate the shrine with his holy relics in a special way.

In 1897, a new silver shrine was made using voluntary donations. The wooden shrine, which previously contained the relics, with a particle of the relics of the martyr baby Gabriel, was transferred in June 1908 with the blessing of Bishop Vladimir of Bialystok to Bialystok. (In 1915, this shrine with a particle of relics was transported by Bishop Vladimir of Bialystok to Moscow, where it was located in the Intercession Cathedral on Red Square.)

In 1915, during the First World War, refugees from Bialystok brought the relics to Moscow, where they were placed in St. Basil's Cathedral on Red Square. On the day of remembrance of the baby Gabriel, May 3, 1918, the rector of the church, Archpriest John Vostorgov, served the Liturgy and simply spoke about the martyr Gabriel. And he was immediately accused of inciting national hatred. The living memory and honor given to the holy martyr baby Gabriel by the people prompted the construction of a chapel in the homeland of baby Gabriel. In the 90s XIX century on the initiative of the rector of the Zabludovsky parish, priest Peter Chetyrkin, fundraising began among the local Orthodox population for the construction of a chapel in the village of Zverki, which was supposed to stand on the site where in the 17th century there was parents' house Holy Martyr Baby Gabriel. With the blessing of Brest Bishop Joseph, the chapel was ready in April 1894 and was consecrated on April 19.

The chapel was wooden, on a stone foundation, decorated with a dome with a cross. Iron roof, walls covered with boards and painted bright green color. The interior walls are covered with wallpaper. In front of the entrance there is a small porch under a canopy. The chapel yard is surrounded by a wooden fence. On the day of the consecration of the chapel, the church in Zabludov was filled with local parishioners and pilgrims. At the end of the service and rest, the bells rang, inviting worshipers to participate in the celebrations dedicated to the consecration of the newly built chapel. After a prayer service to the holy martyr baby Gabriel, with the ringing of bells and the singing of the kontakion and “Christ is Risen,” the religious procession quietly moved in the direction of the village of Zverki.

Pilgrims who had come there earlier came out of Zverki and joined the procession. Mothers with children in their arms and on their knees greeted the procession with the icon of the holy martyr baby Gabriel. The procession stopped at a chapel decorated with greenery. After the blessing of the water, the chapel and two icons of the martyr baby Gabriel were consecrated. At the end of the consecration of the chapel, icons with the image of the holy martyr baby Gabriel were distributed.

The next day, April 20, in the festively decorated Zabludov church, a divine service was held with a prayer service to the holy martyr baby Gabriel. This event led to a renewal and growth of veneration of the holy martyr baby Gabriel in his homeland.

The memory of the martyr baby Gabriel is celebrated on April 20, the day of his martyrdom, and on the day of the Holy Spirit, when the relics were carried around the monastery church. St. Gabriel is considered a healer of children. In 1894, an annual religious procession from Zabludov to Zverki was established. From that time on, every year on April 20, a procession of the cross was made from the Zabludov church to the chapel in the village of Zverki to glorify with prayer the memory of the Holy Martyr Baby Gabriel and ask him for intercession before the throne of God. This celebration took place very solemnly with a huge gathering of pilgrims and Orthodox clergy.

In 1895, the construction of the church in Druskenniki was completed. On July 11, 1895, it was consecrated with dedication to the holy martyr baby Gabriel. Bishop Joseph of Brest took part in the celebrations, thanks to whose efforts the temple was built. Despite the rainy weather, not only the believers of the new parish took part in the celebrations, but also a large number of pilgrims from different places who arrived in this resort region. Until that time, out of 500 Orthodox churches in this province, there was not a single church dedicated to the holy martyr baby Gabriel, who was close to this region in origin. The location for this church was not chosen by chance. The temple was visited by people who arrived from distant places for the purpose of healing from illnesses at the famous resort, which strengthened the veneration of the holy infant martyr Gabriel.

In 1902, on October 6, the entire village of Zverki burned down along with the chapel. By God's providence, a cross and an icon of the holy martyr baby Gabriel remained in the burnt chapel, undamaged by the fire. This sign of God's mercy prompted action to begin to return the holy relics of the martyr baby Gabriel to his homeland.

In 1908, the printing house of the Dormition Pochaev Lavra published “Service to the Holy Martyr Infant Gabriel, in the year of the Lord 1690, martyred by Jews in the city of Bialystok, whose incorruptible relics still rest in the city of Slutsk,” compiled by Archbishop Anthony (Khrapovitsky) of Volyn and Zhitomir.

In 1908, Bishop Michael of Grodno and Brest, together with Bishop Vladimir of Bialystok, decided to transfer from Slutsk part of the relics of the holy martyr baby Gabriel to the city of Bialystok.

On May 11, 1908, the “Appeal to the Orthodox” by Bishop Mikhail of Grodno and Brest was published in the “Grodno Diocesan Gazette”, in which it was reported that “on May 31, the transfer from the city of Slutsk to the Zhirovitsky Monastery of the Dormition of the Mother of God of the cross and reliquary, in which the relics initially rested, will take place Holy Martyr Baby Gabriel. From June 1 to June 12, the holy relics will be transferred from the Zhirovitsky Monastery to the city of Bialystok." On June 7, 1908, a procession with holy relics led by priests from two parishes existing in Yaluvets arrived at noon in Syvisloch and, having received a blessing there, moved to Yaluvets. After the all-night vigil in the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross, the next day, early in the morning, the holy relics were transferred to another church - St. Prince Alexander Nevsky and after the liturgy were handed over to the Orthodox from the parish in Novaya Volya, who walked twenty miles with their soul-pastor, Father Nikolai Ezhikovsky. In the New Will on July 9, the holy relics of the martyr baby Gabriel were transferred to Father Platon Germinovich from Potok.

The next place for this transfer of holy relics was Zabludov and Zverki. This event was described in the “Appeal of the rector of Zabludovsky district” by priest Vasily Chulkov: “On June 10-11, in the presence of a huge crowd of Orthodox pilgrims and the participation of government representatives, a solemn religious procession with an icon and part of the holy relics of the martyr took place through the city of Zabludov and the village of Zverki from the city of Slutsk "Baby Gabriel. This celebration raised the spirit and religious feelings among the people. The parishioners of the Zabludovskaya Church came to the conclusion that a temple should be built in the homeland of the holy martyr Baby Gabriel" ("Grodno Diocesan Gazette" dated August 17, 1908). In this appeal, Father Vasily appealed to all Orthodox Christians of the Grodno diocese to donate for the construction of the church in Zverki.

On June 11, the holy relics of the martyr baby Gabriel reached the suburb of Bialystok - Duilid. The next day in the morning, Father Alexander Kalishevich with a procession of the cross carries the holy relics of the martyr baby Gabriel to Bialystok, where he joined the procession from Bialystok and everyone goes to St. Nicholas Cathedral. So, almost 150 years later, the shrine returned to its homeland.

Part of the holy relics of the martyr baby Gabriel was in the St. Nicholas Cathedral in the city of Bialystok until 1912, when they were transferred to the Annunciation Monastery in Suprasl. In the reference book “Orthodox Russian Monasteries” published in 1910 we read: “In the Bialystok district, 14 versts from the district Bialystok, on the left bank of the Supraslya River stands the Orthodox Annunciation Monastery - ancient monument Orthodoxy, which flourished in the Western region of Russia before the advent of the union."

Work to prepare for the construction of a church dedicated to the holy martyr baby Gabriel in Zverki began with the transfer of part of the holy relics to Bialystok, but were interrupted during the First World War in 1915, when a significant part of the parishioners, along with the clergy, were evacuated deep into Russia.

In Slutsk there was a special book in which miraculous cases known to the spiritual and state authorities were recorded related to the relics of the Holy Martyr Baby Gabriel located there.

National veneration of the martyr baby Gabriel was established throughout the Russian Empire. On the day of remembrance of the saint, thousands of pilgrims gathered from all over the country to his resting place. The magazine “Russian Monk” in 1914 described one of these days of solemn national greatness: “Appeared in print in highest degree interesting message about visiting the ancient Holy Trinity Monastery in the city of Slutsk, where the relics of the holy martyr baby Gabriel rest. The relics of the infant martyr lie completely open in the coffin. Both arms of the baby clasp a small pectoral cross. The fingers are punctured and lacerations are visible. The relics of the martyr were remarkably preserved. The infant martyr is wearing a silk shirt.

20 April all-night vigil at the shrine with the relics of the martyr baby Gabriel, three bishops performed a litany in the open air. Throughout the night there was a vigil and veneration of the holy relics of the martyr. Worshipers came from everywhere. Drinking establishments were closed for three days. Due to the huge number of worshipers flocking to venerate the relics, two liturgies were celebrated in the monastery on April 20 with a procession of the cross around the monastery. The service was performed by Archbishop Anthony (Khrapovitsky) of Volyn in concelebration with Bishops Mitrofan of Minsk and Theophylact of Slutsk and a host of clergy. Bishop Anthony (Khrapovitsky) pronounced a word in memory of the Holy Martyr Baby Gabriel.

During a religious procession with the relics of the martyr baby Gabriel in front of the people, Archbishop Anthony (Khrapovitsky) and the leader of the nobility Rybakov, a six-year-old peasant boy with paralyzed legs received healing. Archbishop Anthony (Khrapovitsky) sprinkled the baby with holy water, then publicly pronounced an akathist to the martyr baby Gabriel. Bishop Anthony (Khrapovitsky) noted that he observed such an influx of pilgrims (35 thousand) only in Pochaev, and even then rarely.

The holiday went well. Hundreds of welcome telegrams were received from members State Council, Duma, brotherhoods. In a joint meeting chaired by Archbishop Anthony (Khrapovitsky) all Orthodox people who participated in the celebration of the glorification of the holy martyr baby Gabriel, it was decided to bring loyal feelings of love and devotion to the feet of His Imperial Majesty the Sovereign Emperor. The most submissive telegram was drawn up in the following expressions: “Livadia, to His Imperial Majesty. In the person of the now glorified Holy Martyr Baby Gabriel, Belarus remembers its centuries-old suffering, relief from which it has only from the Autocratic owners of the Russian land, therefore it always fervently prays for Them even now on the sacred day of remembrance of the martyred baby, he tenderly asks the Lord to hear the prayers of the many thousands of people gathered here and to keep His anointed, our Sovereign, in health and longevity.”

During the First World War, during the evacuation period in 1915, Bishop Vladimir of Bialystok took a wooden shrine with a particle of the holy relics of the martyr baby Gabriel to Moscow and temporarily placed it in the Intercession Cathedral on Red Square. During the revolution and civil war The holy relics of the martyr baby Gabriel were in the Holy Trinity Monastery in Slutsk.

After the October Revolution of 1917, bloody persecution of Orthodox Christians began.

The enemies of Christ were disturbed by the memory of the child who resembled Him. Thus, the Hieromartyr John Vostorgov, rector of the Moscow Intercession Cathedral on Red Square, who defended his memory from desecration, was arrested by the Judeo-Bolsheviks and subsequently shot. Father John was watched by specially sent security officers, listened to his sermons, and even tried to accuse him of anti-Semitism due to the fact that in St. Basil's Cathedral there was an ark with a particle of the relics of the martyr baby Gabriel, who became a victim of a ritual murder committed by members of a savage Jewish sect. But even at that time the accusation turned out to be unsubstantiated and absurd. Then they decided to resort to provocation, accusing Father John of “attempting to sell the house of the Moscow missionary society, which no longer belonged (according to the decree on the separation of church and state of January 23, 1918, regarding the nationalization of church property), to the merchant Pirogov” (A. Svetozarsky. Shepherd Kind).
May 30, 1918 Fr. John was arrested in his apartment together with Bishop Ephraim (Kuznetsov) of Selenga, his longtime acquaintance, who participated in the Local Council and, with the onset of the Troubles, was unable to return to his Irkutsk diocese. At the same time, the priest Fr. Korneev and the elder of the Assumption Cathedral N.N. Remizov. First about. John was kept in Lubyanka in the Internal Prison of the Cheka, then transferred to Butyrka, where he was even allowed to perform divine services in the prison church" (A. Stepanov. Worker of Love. Life and exploits of the leader of the Black Hundred, Hieromartyr Archpriest John Vostorgov).

August 23 (September 5), 1918, not far from the Moscow Fraternal Cemetery, founded by the Venerable Martyr Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna, the following were shot: Ephraim, Bishop of Selenga, Archpriest John Vostorgov, former Minister of Internal Affairs N.A. Maklakov, former Chairman of the State Council I.G. Shcheglovitov, former Minister of Internal Affairs A.N. Khvostov and former director Police Department, Senator S.P. Beletsky.

In 1919, when the Judeo-Bolsheviks requisitioned the relics of the saints (resolution of the Cheka of April 23, 1919), the clergy and clergy of the Intercession Cathedral were accused of counter-revolution and anti-Semitic agitation. In November 1919, a criminal case was opened “On anti-Semitic agitation in the Moscow St. Basil's Cathedral in connection with the relics of the martyr Gabriel.”

The interference of the authorities in church affairs went so far as to prohibit the use of the troparion and kontakion for the martyr baby Gabriel. The “People's Court” ruled: “The use of the troparion, tone 5 and kontakion tone 6 in honor of the baby Gabriel, as definitely misanthropic and counter-revolutionary, corrupting the legal consciousness of the working people, is considered unacceptable, and those who publicly use them are held accountable for counter-revolutionary deeds."

The resolution of the “People's Court” of the city of Moscow dated December 5, 1919 states: “The box with the relics of the so-called martyr Gabriel is to be handed over to the judicial institution as material evidence of the crime, for further forwarding to the appropriate place. This box with all the contents is deposited in the Criminal museum at the Main Police (from the magazine "Revolution and the Church", 1919; N6-8).

On July 29, 1920, the Council of People's Commissars decided: “To carry out the complete liquidation of relics in the territory in a planned and consistent manner.” This order did not bypass the Holy relics of the martyr baby Gabriel... In the 30s, the Trinity Slutsk Monastery, where the relics were kept, was closed, and the Holy relics of the martyr baby Gabriel were transferred to the Museum of Atheism in Minsk.

During the Great Patriotic War repression began to weaken, and in the chaos of military confusion, the Orthodox residents of Minsk managed in 1942 to place the Holy relics of the martyr baby Gabriel in a wooden shrine in the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Lord in Minsk, the rector of which was Metropolitan Panteleimon (Rozhnovsky). In 1943, news of the discovery of holy relics in the Minsk Cathedral reached the rector of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the village of Svisloch, Father Alexy Znosko. Father Alexy wrote in a short time an akathist to the holy martyr baby Gabriel, using more than 40 akathists who served as a model.

In 1944, during the German occupation, the opportunity arose to fulfill an old dream Orthodox people Bialystok region - to transfer the holy relics to the homeland of the holy martyr baby Gabriel.

Metropolitan Panteleimon (Rozhnovsky) instructed Father Alexy Znosko to visit the cathedral and separate particles from the holy relics of the infant martyr. Father Alexy said many years later: “We went with the archimandrite to the cathedral, and at the shrine with the relics we read an akathist to the holy martyr Gabriel by me. After reading the akathist, they opened the shrine and the archimandrite took out a piece (1.5 cm long) from the left collarbone and handed it to to me". This piece of holy relics was divided into three parts.

After this, Father Alexy Znosko reported on his mission to Archbishop Benedict, who decided that the parish in the village of Svisloch would receive as a gift one particle of holy relics, the second particle was intended for Zabludov, and the third particle - for the Grodno see. In May 1944, on the day of the consecration of the church, rebuilt after the hostilities, a piece of the holy relics was placed in a cross under the holy altar, where it remains to this day. The post-war fate of this great shrine is shrouded in a fog of mystery. Over the past few decades, the holy relics have been kept in the dungeons of the Grodno church, far from those who could desecrate them. The holy relics were in a damp basement in a place extremely unsuitable for their storage, but were not damaged, which once again testifies to their holiness.

On September 21/22, 1992, the holy relics were transferred with a religious procession - the first since 1944 - from the Grodno Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, where they were kept in St. Nicholas Cathedral in Bialystok, with the blessing of the Archbishop of Warsaw and All Poland Sava.

On the Polish border, the holy relics were met by several thousand believers, who accompanied them all the way to Bialystok through all the cities and villages. The relics of the baby martyr Gabriel were transported in a car in an oak shrine; along the way, believers showered it with flowers; they made a stop in every city or village where there was a church. The holy relics were brought into the church with a procession of the cross and prayers and akathists were served; believers venerated the shrine and stayed overnight in the church to pray before the holy relics of the martyr baby Gabriel.

In Bialystok itself (now Poland, 280 thousand inhabitants), the holy relics were met at the city border and carried along the main streets with a procession to St. Nicholas Cathedral. The religious procession lasted about three hours, and 50-60 thousand people took part in it. Traffic on the streets was stopped. Even representatives of secular authorities greeted the religious procession. However, as usual when it comes to the life of the Orthodox Church, the Polish media passed over this event in silence.

The divine service in the St. Nicholas Cathedral lasted all night, the liturgy was served on the morning of September 23, after which the holy relics of the infant martyr Gabriel were carried with a procession around the temple and placed in the right aisle of the cathedral, where they will rest forever. Every week on Tuesdays, before the shrine with holy relics, an akathist is read to the infant martyr Gabriel.

In Poland, the martyr baby Gabriel is revered by Orthodox Christians as the patron saint of children and youth. On September 22, the Polish Orthodox Church honors the transfer of the Holy relics of the martyr baby Gabriel, now found in Polish soil.

Since 1993, every year on May 2-3, according to the new style, the relics of the baby Gabriel are transferred from Bialystok to Zabludov, where, with an open shrine, all night services are held. The relics are brought by car to the outskirts of Zabludov and from there the believers carry them in their arms to the Zabludov temple. Usually, on the occasion of the holiday on May 2, a pilgrimage procession (usually more than a thousand pilgrims) goes from Bialystok to Zabludov. Now (2002) a convent building is being built in the village of Zverki, where in the future it is planned to transfer the Holy Relics of the Baby Gabriel from the Bialystok Cathedral.

Holy Martyr Infant Gabriel, pray to God for us!

Troparion, tone 5:

Holy Infant Gabriel,/ for the sake of the One who was pierced by us from the Jews/ you were pierced fiercely in the ribs/ and for the One who exhausted Your blood for us/ you gave up your whole body to the wasting blood/ to fierce ulcers,/ now in eternal glory with Thou art indwelt in Him./ By this remember us, we pray, who honor thy memory here,/ asking us for health in our bodies/ and salvation for our souls.

Kontakion, tone 6:

Your Fatherland became the beasts, / the martyr of Christ Gabriel, / where you were caught up from the true beasts - the Jews: / you were deprived of your parents, / having endured all kinds of cruelty, / you moved to the Heavenly Fatherland. / Delight us here too from all misfortunes and sorrows / and beg, we pray, you to obtain your eternal inheritance.

In the history of all nations, different things have happened. For example, our princes fought irreconcilably with each other during the Middle Ages, Ivan the Terrible had guardsmen. There was a lot. We do not abandon our history. There was greatness and glory in it, and a great fall due to our sins. There was also the tortured baby Gabriel. Just mentioning it is dangerous. Archpriest John Vostorgov mentioned it - and was arrested for anti-Semitic propaganda, then shot. And soon the entire clergy of the cathedral and even the church watchman were arrested. The relics and relics were sent to the Moscow Police Museum. The cathedral was closed.

St. Martyr Gabriel is considered a healer of children. His holy relics changed their location several times. From 1944 to 1992 they were kept in the Grodno Intercession Church, from where they were solemnly transferred to St. Nicholas Cathedral in Bialystok (Poland).

Source pravoslavie.ru; Rusbeseda.ru

GABRIEL was the son of peasants Peter and Anastasia Govdeley, baptized in the Zabludovsky temple monastery in honor of the Dormition of the Most Rev. Mother of God. His parents firmly adhered to Orthodoxy at a time when the influence of the Union of Brest was very strong around. 11 Apr 1690 Gabriel was kidnapped by the village tenant Shutko, a member of a savage sect, taken to Bialystok and tortured: the boy was crucified, then stabbed, gradually bleeding until he died.

The body of the martyr was thrown into a field near the village. It was found 3 days later by the barking of dogs, which not only did not touch the remains of the martyr, but also drove away birds of prey from them. Gabriel was buried in the cemetery in his native village.

His martyrdom became the subject of a trial, the results of which were recorded in the “books of the righteous of Magdeburg Zabludovskaya”.

In 1720, during an epidemic, local residents tried to bury dead babies near the martyr’s grave, feeling the grace of this place. One day they accidentally touched Gabriel’s coffin and discovered his incorruptible relics. They were transferred to the crypt of the Zverkovsky church.

In 1746, the temple burned down, but the relics of Gabriel remained unharmed. Only the handle was partially burned, but after the relics were transferred that same year to the Zabludovsky Monastery, it miraculously healed and became covered with skin.

In 1755, due to the deterioration of the financial situation of the monastery, due to “its dilapidation and fear of attacks from non-believers,” with the permission of the Patriarch of Constantinople and with the blessing of the Kyiv Metropolitan, Archimandrite. Mikhail (Kozachinsky) transferred the relics of Gabriel to the Slutsk Holy Trinity Monastery. Archim. Mikhail wrote “Tombstone” - a poetic story about an infant martyr.

Through prayers to Gabriel, many healings occurred, especially among children. In 1820, the Russian Orthodox Church canonized him. The relics of the infant martyr rested openly; puncture and laceration wounds were visible on his hands.

In the Slutsk Monastery there was a book in which the miracles that happened at the shrine were recorded.

Every year, on the day of memory of Gabriel, up to 35 thousand pilgrims from all over Russia gathered in the monastery. Apr 20 1914 The all-night vigil was led by the Volyn Archbishop. Anthony. During the procession with St. The relics healed a 6-year-old peasant boy whose legs were paralyzed.

Gabriel is considered the patron saint of sick children, especially those suffering from ulcers and bleeding. The infant martyr is the heavenly patron of the Brotherhood of Orthodox Youth in Poland.

Cancer with the relics of the martyr. Gabriel (St. Nicholas Cathedral in Bialystok)

The infant martyr is a stumbling block

The visit of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' to his Polish flock caused a resonance among many religious and political forces in our country. Some were delighted by it, others reacted very ironically, and still others made serious claims. Among the latter is the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia, which was deeply outraged by the way the Rossiya-24 channel described the worship Holy relics Infant martyr Gabriel of Bialystok (Slutsk), patron saint of God-protected Poland, according to his life, “killed by the Jews.”

“The Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia expresses deep surprise and disappointment at the unprofessionalism and savagery of the commentary made by the Rossiya 24 TV channel - one of the leading Russian media - regarding the visit of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Kirill to the St. Nicholas Cathedral in the city of Bialystok,- said in a press release sent out by FEOR. - The material, which is now available on the Vesti program website, leads historical information according to St. Nicholas Cathedral in the spirit of a medieval blood libel."

What did Russia-24 do wrong? She gave me the following historical information:

"Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Kirill visited St. Nicholas Cathedral in the city of Bialystok - the main church of the diocese. Here he venerated the holy relics of the martyr baby Gabriel and met with parishioners... St. Nicholas Cathedral in Bialystok was consecrated in 1846. After restoration in 1910, it was decorated based on the paintings of Vasily Vasnetsov. Since 1951, the temple has become cathedral Bialystok diocese of the Polish Orthodox Church. In 1991, Pope John Paul II visited St. Nicholas Cathedral. The Holy Child Gabriel was born in 1684 into a peasant family in the Bialystok district of the Grodno province. In 1690, Gabriel was kidnapped from his home by a Jew and taken to Bialystok, where he was brutally tortured. In 1720, the body of the baby Gabriel was found incorrupt. In 1820, the martyr baby Gabriel was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church."

Press secretary of one of the chief rabbis Russian Federation and United States citizen Berl Lazar, Anastasia Kudrina stated that the hagiography of this Orthodox saint is “a mythology that has more than once in the past served as the reason massacres and pogroms of the Jewish population and has been repeatedly refuted, including by representatives of the Church themselves,” so FEOR “would like to receive an explanation about this... blatant manifestation of anti-Semitism from the Rossiya-24 TV channel.”

Now the Vesti website provides already “censored” information. But in fulfillment of the words of the holy Apostle Peter, to be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give an account of the hope that is in us with meekness and reverence (1 Peter 3:15), let us try to explain something. Namely, why we, Orthodox Christians and at the same time sensible people, and a little familiar with history, still do not consider the incident described in the life of the 17th century to be fiction.

What will any conscientious historian do if he doubts whether any act took place? social group in past? Of course, first he will thoroughly study its ideology and compare its content with a hypothetical incident. This is also important in order to understand whether a person acted in accordance with the teachings of his religion or the program of his party or contrary to it, and then it is unlikely that religion or the party is generally responsible for him. Let's go this way and open the sacred book of Judaism, the Talmud (and the killer of the baby Gabriel was guided by it in his life).

About non-Jews it literally says the following: “We call Jews people, but non-Jews are not people. They are animals” (Talmud: Baba Mezia 114b). Moreover, people who deny the Jewish creed are subject to completely legal destruction: “Kill anyone who rejects the Torah: the law” (Talmud: Sanhedrin 59b). “Torah deniers” also include Christians (Coschen Hamischpat 425, Hagah 425, 5)… And, what’s worst, the killing of a Christian according to the Talmud is really equated to a ritual sacrifice: “Every Jew who sheds the blood of atheists (not Jews, Christians) commits the same rite as the sacrifice to our Lord God" (Bammidber Raba, p. 21 and Jalkut 772).

Of course, no one has the right to demand that Jews believe in Christian hagiographies. But it is also impossible to deny that, in terms of their content, the actions of the Jew Shutko in the life of the holy martyr Gabriel of Bialystok are completely consistent with the Talmud, and do not contradict it. The sacred book, whatever one may say, cannot be called myth-making or a hoax...

Was the case of ritual murder of Christian “goyim” and, in particular, Christian children by persons of Jewish origin unique in history? And here we are forced to answer: no, unfortunately. Thus, in “The History of the Jews” by Joseph Kastein, to which the author of the book “The History of Jewish Human Sacrifice” Willy Martin refers, it is said that Martin Luther (and this outstanding Protestant theologian can hardly be suspected of dishonesty or falsification) writes about the boy Simon of Trent, killed by adherents of Judaism, and about other children (Stranger than Fiction, p. 249).

The author of the book “Pandora’s Box”, which served as the primary source for this article, Lev Gunin points to entire volumes of descriptions of torture, atrocities, extrajudicial killings and mass executions by Jewish-Israelis of Muslims and Christians, which were compiled by international organizations (UN, Amnesty International, Derechos, Human Rights Watch, etc. .). The description of the so-called “Jewish Cheka”, which came to us from the 30s of the last century, is truly terrifying: “The entire cement floor of the premises of the Jewish Kiev Cheka, where the executions were carried out, was flooded with several inches of human blood. It was a terrible mixture of blood, brains and fragments of skulls. All the walls were spattered with blood. Pieces of brains and head skin stuck to them. The gutter, 25 centimeters wide, 25 centimeters deep and approximately 10 meters long, was filled to the brim with blood. Some bodies were disemboweled, the limbs of others were torn out, some were literally cut into small pieces. Some had their eyes torn out, and their heads, faces and necks were covered with deep wounds" (Defender Magazine, October 1933).

Without in any way blaming the entire Jewish people, who repeatedly suffered from genocide, for the horrors described above, we emphasize that we're talking about about individual fanatical Jews who practiced the most brutal ritual murders. If there really were monsters who killed the boy Simon from Trent and tore out the eyes of Kyiv Christians, then Shutko’s crime is most likely not a myth. But is it appropriate to regard the well-deserved punishment of a child killer and the veneration of the relics of his holy victim as an insult to the entire Jewish people, if modern rabbis do not approve of such “sacrifices”? The question is probably rhetorical...

We should also touch upon the allegedly repeated denials of this hagiography by representatives of the Church. As the only publicly known example of a publicly expressed thought Orthodox priest about the decanonization of the holy martyr Gabriel of Slutsky, an interview with the samizdat magazine “Jews in the USSR” by Father Alexander Men (a Jew by nationality) appears in the media space (No. 11, 1975). But, firstly, the specifics of Soviet samizdat in general and the approach to the statements of people of holy orders in the state of “scientific atheism” in particular have long become the talk of the town. Secondly, the attribution to Father Alexander of decisively advocating for the decanonization of the martyr Gabriel of Slutsky by Jewish leaders for some reason is at odds with the memories of his inner circle. For example, one of the archpriest’s spiritual children, Maria Senchukova, in the article “The Humble Church: 21 years since the murder of Father Alexander Men”, published on “Pravmir”, writes: “...an explanation of the services of Holy Week from the mentioned “Sacrament, Word and Image” I can still quote. But I can’t even roughly remember any discussion about the decanonization of the holy infant martyr Gabriel of Bialystok.”

It would probably be more appropriate to listen to another refutation concerning “anti-Semitism in the Orthodox Church,” in the words of Archpriest Vladislav Sveshnikov: “As for the imaginary anti-Semitism of our Church, one can be convinced of the groundlessness of these accusations even by simply going to any Orthodox church, where icons of the Old Testament prophets and holy apostles hang, all of whom, without exception, were Jews."

In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek. But maniacs and fanatics like the scoundrel Shutko can be found, alas, among both the former and the latter. But this is hardly a question of nationality as such...

May 3 (NS) The Orthodox Church honors the memory of the holy infant martyr Gabriel of Bialystok (Zabludovsky). Gabriel, the son of pious peasants Peter and Anastasia, was born on March 22, 1684 in the village of Zverki, Grodno province. The parents of the baby Gabriel, being under the yoke of infidels, sacredly preserved the Orthodox faith, despite the oppression to which the Orthodox of White Rus' were subjected, who did not want to accept the union with the Latins. They raised their only child in the spirit of serving God, keeping His commandments, keeping holy Orthodox faith. Baby Gabriel, a religious, loving, innocent boy, became a victim of Jewish fanaticism.

In 1690 the family suffered greatest sorrow: On April 11, when the mother of six-year-old Gabriel was bringing lunch to her husband in the field, a Jewish tenant entered the house. He caressed the child and secretly took him to Bialystok, where the baby was tortured. The Jews put baby Gabriel in a basement, where they pierced his side with sharp instruments to release blood. After which the infant martyr was crucified on a cross installed in a trough and stabbed with sharp instruments to release the remaining blood.

When the child died after nine days of torment, the Jews secretly took his lifeless body into the field and threw it at the edge of the forest, near the village of Zverki. The holiday of Holy Easter was approaching. Hungry dogs ran to the body, birds of prey circled over it, but the dogs not only did not tear it to pieces, but even protected it from the birds. The residents came to hear the barking and discovered a victim of Jewish fanaticism. During the investigation, the circumstances of the ritual murder committed by the Jews became clear, they were found and punished; a corresponding entry was left in the memoirs of the Zabludov city government. Residents of Zabludov, who had previously complained about the “strengthening of the Jews in their city,” admitted that the baby died as a result of a ritual murder committed by the Jews in Bialystok. The body of the tortured baby Gabriel, in the presence of a crowd of people deeply moved by such atrocities, was buried near the cemetery church in Zverki and remained here for about 30 years.

At the beginning of the 18th century, a pestilence swept through the entire territory of the Bialystok district. They barely had time to bury people; in the village of Zverki they tried to place dead children closer to the grave of the baby Gabriel, feeling the unusual grace of this place. One day, during a burial, the martyr’s coffin was accidentally touched. To the greatest surprise, the body was found incorrupt. The news of this spread with lightning speed among the Orthodox believing people, strengthening the veneration of the martyr baby Gabriel. This was in 1720. Tradition connects with this event many healings that took place at the grave of the holy martyr baby Gabriel and the end of the epidemic, which served as the reason for his veneration.

On May 9, 1755, the relics of the Holy Martyr Baby Gabriel were transferred to the monastery in Slutsk Holy Trinity in the Minsk province. The procession with the holy relics - the reliquary was carried in the hands - majestically walked for more than 300 miles. Numerous Orthodox people came to the road along which the religious procession took place; Orthodox Christians, kneeling on both sides of the road, with tears in their eyes asked the saint for help and to grant them strength to preserve Holy Orthodoxy.

In 1820, the martyr baby Gabriel was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1855, a prayer to the martyr baby Gabriel was compiled; in 1893, the authorities of the Lithuanian diocese ordered that all churches in the province should have icons of the holy martyr baby Gabriel. Above the relics of the holy martyr baby Gabriel burned an unquenchable lamp of pure silver, a gift from Archbishop Anthony (Khrapovitsky) of Volyn. In 1908, the printing house of the Dormition Pochaev Lavra published “Service to the Holy Martyr Infant Gabriel, in the year of the Lord 1690, martyred by Jews in the city of Bialystok, whose incorruptible relics still rest in the city of Slutsk,” compiled by Archbishop Anthony.

In Slutsk there was a special book in which miraculous cases known to the spiritual and state authorities were recorded related to the relics of the Holy Martyr Baby Gabriel located there.

National veneration of the martyr baby Gabriel was established throughout the Russian Empire. On the day of remembrance of the saint, thousands of pilgrims gathered from all over the country to his resting place. The magazine “Russian Monk” wrote about one of these days of solemn national greatness in 1914: “A highly interesting message appeared in the press about a visit to the ancient Holy Trinity Monastery in the city of Slutsk, where the relics of the holy martyr baby Gabriel rest. "in the coffin completely open. Both arms of the baby clasp a small pectoral cross. The fingers on the hands are pricked and lacerations are visible. The relics of the martyr are remarkably preserved."

When, after the October Revolution of 1917, the bloody persecution of the Orthodox began, the enemies of Christ were hindered by the memory of the child who resembled Him. Thus, the holy martyr John Vostorgov, rector of the Moscow Intercession Cathedral on Red Square, who defended his memory from desecration, was shot by the Bolsheviks. He was accused of “anti-Semitism” on the grounds that he served frequent prayer services before the relics of the baby Gabriel, the reliquary with a particle of which was in St. Basil’s Cathedral.

In 1919, the godless authorities banned the use of the troparion and kontakion of the martyr baby Gabriel, as “definitely misanthropic and counter-revolutionary, corrupting the legal consciousness of the working people.” The current Russian authorities, while remaining the spiritual and legal heirs of the Bolshevik regime, do not classify the singing of troparions and kontakions as criminal offenses for reasons of political correctness. However, by publicly demonstrating their sympathies to adherents of the same savage cult, the victim of which was the holy martyr baby Gabriel, they openly expose themselves as enemies of Christ and His Church.