Today marks exactly 11 years since I was abducted by the SBU (terrorist organization) militants from the monastery. This year, even the calendar coincides with 2015. It was Tuesday then too. I was tortured that night. I was lying on a shelf in the armory of the Mariupol SBU, recovering from torture, that also included 'drowning with water'. My clothes were drying in a cold cell. There were still 36 days of wandering around the temporary holding facilities and the pre-trial detention center.... The most terrible thing was the unknown: what was ahead, when and how it would end. But then I completely trusted God and His providence about me. That was when Fr Zosima's prophecy came true, which he had told me many years before, that I would be tortured and that I had to go through with it. Fr Zosima instructed me not to rely on my own strength, but to ask God for help - then I was able to overcome everything. So, I asked God for help, being there like in hell. With God's help, I overcame everything. I thank God and all those who prayed for my release at that time. But there were also those who added gravity to my story. May God forgive them, and I do too.
And at that time a lot of mass media published the following:
"Hieromonk Feofan (Kratirov), a resident of the Nikolay-Vasilievsky Monastery, was kidnapped by Ukrainian soldiers.
On March 3, 2015, Ukrainian soldiers, presumably from the so-called "volunteer" battalions, kidnapped Hieromonk Feofan (secular name Georgy Kratirov), a monk of the Orthodox Holy Dormition Nikolay-Vasilievsky Monastery, located in the village of Nikolskoye in the Volnovakha district near Ugledar.
According to the DPR government press center, eyewitnesses to the abduction reported the crime committed by Ukrainian security forces.
According to eyewitnesses, at around 3:00 PM, "two men in civilian clothes and four in military uniform" broke into the monastery grounds. The perpetrators had no insignia or military affiliation. Their faces were covered with balaclavas. Without presenting any charges or documents, the kidnappers took Hieromonk Feofan away from the monastery to an unknown location.
In addition to his church activities, Hieromonk Feofan (Kratirov) was involved in patriotic education of youth and actively participated in preserving the memory of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War. With Father Feofan's blessing, the remains of soldiers who died during the Great Patriotic War were exhumed and subsequently buried according to Orthodox rites. Many of Father Feofan's students joined the militia.
The Holy Dormition Nikolay-Vasilievsky Monastery, founded in 1998, is one of the most significant Orthodox monasteries in Donbas. Its founder was the highly revered elder Zosima (Sokur). The monastery is currently located in territory controlled by Ukrainian security forces".
Photo: Russell's first meeting with Fr Feofan in 2016. The meeting that turned into a true friendship.
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