Holy Martyr Mikhail Okazhmakov

The persecution of Soviet power to the Russian Church was such that it was not to say about their faith, but even silently follow it as a feat. The new martyrs and confessors, glorified in the face of the saints did not come: believed, prayed and meekly went to their Calvarys.

“Polit.ru” recalls those who gave their lives for faith and by whose prayers the Russian Church is alive - even if almost nothing came to us besides the name.

Publications were prepared by Kirill Kharatyan (included by the Russian authorities in the register of foreign agents).

Holy Martyr Mikhail Okazhmakov

Mikhail Okashmakov was born in 1866, the place of birth and its origin are inexpensive.

He served the third priest in the Preobrazhensky church of the village of Usolier near the city of Solikamsk. The parishioners love him more than others, especially for mercy and non -possession. If it was necessary to ask, then they always asked about about. Michael. In addition to services in the temple, he taught the Law of God at a parish school, taught with love and reverence for the subject. When donations in the temple gathered for gifts to children from poor families, the collectors first approached about. Mikhail, knowing that he would give the most, and after him to others would be embarrassed to sacrifice less, and the mean rector of the temple, although he was unhappy with the generosity of Fr. Michael, but he himself gave the same amount. On Easter about. Mikhail went around the poor at home and distributed money, sometimes to say: “This is for shoes”, “This is for gifts to children.”

In June 1918, after the arrest of Archbishop Andronik (Nikolsky), priests of the Perm diocese ceased to serve. This was the order of the Lord, given to them even before the arrest: if the authorities arrest any of the clergymen, stop serving everyone until they let go; And to explain to the people in such a way that the priest is demanded. Together with everyone, he stopped serving Fr. Michael. The authorities, fearing popular indignation, began to call priests in the Cheka in order to force them to fulfill trees. Was called about. Michael. In response to threats, he said: “I gave an oath to the cross in a handshake - to obey my bishop. And while he does not give up orders - to crown, to catch on - I will not serve. You will let him go, and then I will make trees. ”

A few days later about. Mikhail was arrested and sent to the Solikamsk prison.

Under Ilyin's day, Bishop Theophan (Ilmensky) for the all -nights asked the parishioners to pray diligently for Fr. Mikhail, as he threatened the execution. All the people prayed for him, many cried, after the all -night parishioners chose representatives for negotiations with the authorities. They invited the local authorities to release Fr. Michael on bail; They refused: "He is too popular, gathered people around him, too many of him obey." Meanwhile, it was decided to kill him, but in order to avoid popular indignation, they announced that the priest Mikhail Okadashakov would be sent for forced labor in Cherdyn. Some soldiers of the guards were from local peasants, they knew about. Michael and revealed the deception. In those days, the priest was in prison on Usolka.

On August 3, three prisoners were taken from here - a doctor, an officer and Fr. Michael; Two escorts were assigned to each arrested; They, helping the priest to climb a cart, spoke with him in an undertone:

- Father, we are taking you to shoot you, but we feel sorry for you. We all remember you, you taught us, helped families. We cannot kill you. We will shoot in the air, and you fall, otherwise we will shoot you, but we don’t want it.
“No, what your bosses ordered to do with me, then do it,” said the priest.

We arrived at the place of execution in the forest. The doctor and officer were immediately shot: the escorts led Fr. Michael into the depths of the forest and began to shoot over his head. The priest stood opposite the Red Army soldiers, once his parishioners, and was silent. Then one of the escorts approached about. Mikhail has closely and with such force hit his butt that the priest lost consciousness. Waking up, he saw: it gets dark, some shadows flickered in front. He went straight at them and came across the corpses of the doctor and officer, and nearby the Red Army soldered on the cart. The priest began to read the waste prayer.

“And the priest is still alive,” said one of them and shot at random several times in the dark.

Bullets fell into the right hand, in the left leg and in the chest of the priest. The next day, the Red Army were sent to bury corpses. They drive up and see - about. Michael sits on a stump.

- Father, are you alive? How will we bury you alive? Well, okay, maybe it will cost you from here.

They dug up the grave, fell asleep of the bodies of the executed, planted Fr. Michael on a cart and taken. But it was dangerous to take a priest sentenced to death and not shot, bleeding, and, wanting to get rid of him as soon as possible, the Red Army asked:

- Father, tell me where to hide you?
“You don’t hide me,” he answered calmly.

Meanwhile, we drove into the village, began to ask the inhabitants who would sheltage the priest. But the horror of the activities of punitive Bolshevik detachments was so great that none of the peasants dared to provide a shelter to the wounded. We went to the house of the parish priest, but he, seeing from afar, the Red Army soldiers and the wounded priest, waved his hands, making signs to pass by more likely. The escorts asked for any of the residents to at least bandage the wounds. But either the brutal -hearted all came across a people who, like the enchanted, could not wake up with horror, which the Bolsheviks were visited everywhere, or an unbeliever, or maybe they did not believe in the sincerity of the Red Army, but only no one agreed to provide the priest of the shelter and bandage wounds.

Let's go on. In a neighboring village, a woman drove about. Mikhail, with fresh milk, but refused to shelter, and the convoy drove him further, and so they brought it back to jail. He was placed in the camera with the white officer Ponomarev, and the priest told him about everything that happened to him, and added:

- Know that if they pick me up and say that they will lead to work for work.

Indeed, the next day, August 4, 1918, the prison guard announced about. Mikhail and the officer to get to work. Mindful of the words of the priest, Ponomarev prepared for the worst. They were taken to the yard. One of the escorts hit the priest with an butt on the head - lightly, the second hit the other side, and so was beaten in turn until they killed.

Absorbed in the murder of Fr. Mikhail the executioners forgot about the officer. In the meantime, he moved over the fence, rushed into the river and hid behind the pile of the bridge. Finding his absence, the guard rushed in search, but they did not lead to anything. Ponomarev saw how the Red Army soldered the priest’s body to the river bank, tied a large stone to him, swept and threw it into the water. The next day, the women came to the shore to rinse the linen. In the middle of the river, cross -ragged hands, with a cross, a priest tortured on the eve lay with a cross on his chest. Women raised a cry, the people began to escape from everywhere, and the news quickly reached the Chekists. The horse was driven to the river, the Red Army caught the priest’s body from the water, put it on a cart and taken from the city. The miracle was obvious, and a crowd of people went for a non -courtingly melted body. The Red Army tried to drive away the people either swear or threats, but this did not help, and they began to shoot over their heads, but people continued to go. They shot at the crowd, some were wounded, and then they only stopped the people.

Bishop Theophan (Ilmensky) served on Fr. Mikhail Vespers, removing him in the service of a holy martyr, about which not only we pray, said the lord, but he also prays for us before God. After the all -night, he called his son about. Michael-Nikolai (+ 1919), who served as a deacon in the Trinity Church in Perm, and said: “In the memory of your martyr’s father you will be ordained a priest. Go after your father. "

After the martyrdom of about. Mikhail’s authorities pursued his family for a long time, deprived grocery cards, did not allow children to study at school, but the family lived with prayers of the martyr comfortably. The Lord did not leave them. It happened that one of the children or mother would leave the house in the morning, and on the threshold-a bag of food, powdered by snow, with a note.