The Missionary Program of the New Martyr Fr. Daniel Sysoev

https://apantaortodoxias.blogspot.com/2018/07/the-missionary-program-of-new-martyr-fr.html

Priest-Martyr Daniel Sysoev. An Ideal Death vs. An Awful Death.

 Now, what kind of death is best? For a Christian, the best death is to be martyred for the sake of Christ the Savior. This is the best possible way for man to die. Some people sent condolences to Optina Hermitage after the murder of three monks ( on Pascha, 1993 ), but for a Christian, that kind of death is a very great joy. In the ancient Church, they would never send their condolences when someone somewhere was killed. All of the churches would immediately send out congratulations. Imagine, to congratulate them with having a new defender in the Heavens! A martyrs death washes away all sins except for heresy and schism. All other sins--fornication, murder, adultery--are washed away. Heresy is distortion of the teachings of the Church, a distortion not made out of ignorance, but a conscious distortion, going against the will of God. Is that not so? Schism is an organized rebellion against the Church. All other sins are washed away. Remember the martyr St. Boniface!

The Slavic language is always letting us down. Ever since the Slavs mistranslated the word "martyr", we have always misunderstood it. We should not read the word "martyr" as commonly understood ( one who has been tortured ). A martyr is a witness, a term Arabs correctly render as "shaheed." Except that the shaheed is a witness to evil, the spirit-Allah, while for us, a martyr witnesses that Christ is good, and that He conquered death. Thus, a martyr is one who by his death has borne witness that Christ conquered death, that He rose from the dead.