The historically unprecedented persecution of Orthodox Christians in Russia began a mere century ago, and lasted for seven decades. It had been utterly unthinkable that this could happen in “Holy Russia.” But it did happen. Within a decade of the “October Revolution” that ushered in the Soviet State, and the persecution of the Orthodox Church:

•  Of roughly 300 Orthodox bishops, less than 20 were alive twenty years later and only four had some degree of liberty, while living in fear of imminent arrest or worse.
•  Of about 51,000 priests, only some 300 were still serving parishes by the beginning of WWII.
• Of 54,147 Orthodox churches and 25,593 chapels only between 100 and 300 were open in 1939.
• All 1,025 Orthodox monasteries were closed, and all of the approximately 95,000 monastics were cast out.
• All 57 Orthodox seminaries and four theological academies were suppressed.
• All 37,528 Orthodox parochial schools, all 1,131 homes for the aged, and all 291 hospitals were closed or nationalized.

Many of the clergy – bishops, priests, deacons, readers, monastic men and women – were executed straightaway. Most of the rest died in captivity from starvation and torture. Not only clergy were subject to death: the total number of Christian victims under the Soviet regime has been estimated to range between 12 and 20 million.

Certainly this could not happen again...or could it?