Assumptionist Martyrs Beatified
Assumptionists Pavel Djidjov, Kamen Vitchev,
and Josaphat Chichkov were beatified recently in Bulgaria.
( Click here to learn more about this icon of the three
martyrs.)
THREE ASSUMPTIONIST MARTYRS DECLARED BLESSED
On Sunday, May 26, 2002, in the main square of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Pope John
Paul II will beatify three Assumptionists: Josaphat Chichkov, Kamen Vitchev,
and Pavel Djidjov. They were executed before a firing squad in the main prison
yard of Sophia during the night of November 11-12, 1952. These new Blesseds
are the first Assumptionists to be so honored by the Church. The Assumptionists
are happy to share this good news with the alumni of Assumption College as well
as with their numerous relatives, friends and colleagues. Public celebrations
are being planned for November.
The following was taken directly from a letter to the Assumptionists from their Superior General, The Most Reverend Richard Lameroux, A.A.:
Who were these three men, whose names may strike many of us
as very foreign?
Father Pavel Djidjov (left) was the youngest of the three (born in 1919). An
accomplished athlete, a practical man, trained in business studies, he was entrusted
with the financial management of the Assumption mission in Bulgaria, but invested
most of his energies in the education of young people. During his teaching years
at the Assumption school in Varna, on the Black Sea, he was known for his unambiguous
position regarding the Party in Bulgaria. He was “guilty” of defending
religious freedom in the face of a totalitarian regime and was greatly beloved
by his students and unambiguous in his loyalty to the church.
Father Kamen VITCHEV (born in 1893) (middle), perhaps that best known of the
three, was a teacher, a scholar, and a leader. When he was arrested in December
of 1951, he was Vicar Provincial for the Assumptionists in Bulgaria. He had
been a teacher at the Assumptionist seminar in Istanbul and for a much longer
time at the College of Saint Augustine in Plovdiv. In Bulgaria he became widely
known as an effective teacher and preacher of the faith and very active in inter-Church
activities. He published regularly in the Assumptionist journal of Eastern theology
studies called “Echos d’Orient” and fostered friendly relations
with the Orthodox clergy in Plovdiv, who were often guests of the community.
His articles dealt with erudite issues of Orthodox canon law, as well as events
of note in the Catholic and Orthodox churches and reflections on the life of
the Christian in the world. Undoubtedly his published thoughts on the merits
of a Christian vision of the world as opposed to the dominant atheist and materialist
doctrines did not make him a favorite of the regime. He was “guilty”
of being a fine scholar and educator and passionate about the cause of unity
between the Eastern and Latin churches. He had himself been ordained a priest
in the Byzantine rite.
Father Josaphat CHICHKOV, the eldest of the three (born in 1884) (right), was
for a long time a teacher and educator of young men preparing for the priesthood.
He was a simple man, especially effective with the struggling students and something
of a technophile, using some of the “modern” tools being invented
(typewriters with the Cyrillic alphabet, moving picture cameras and gramophones)
for his ministry. Accused of being a spy for the Vatican and Western capitalist
powers, he was in fact “guilt” of being a good and popular educator
and a loving pastor.
All three were shot before a firing squad in the central prison of Sophia, Bulgaria,
during the night of the 11-12 November 1952. They had given their life generously
at the service of their people and for the sake of God’s Kingdom. Father
Pavel wrote just weeks before his arrest: “A diocesan priest has been condemned
to death, another to 20 years in prison, two others will soon be put on trial.
We’re awaiting our turn… May God’s will be done!”
Why is this beatification such a grace for us? Obviously, it’s a great
joy for every member of the Assumption family, for our brothers, our sisters,
all our lay friends, to have three of “our own” so greatly honored
by the Church. The Assumption itself is honored: the way of life embraced by
these three men surely inspired them along the way of holiness. But the fact
of the martyrdom touches us most deeply.
It’s not that martyrdom is easy for us to understand. And recently it’s
been even more difficult because we’ve had to deal with the people who
claim to be martyrs when they give their life in order to destroy their enemies.
It helps to understand our three martyrs by considering what martyrdom meant
for Jesus. Like Kamen, Pavel and Josaphat, he spoke passionately for the truth
that his Father asked him to communicate to men and women, namely that they
are not alone, abandoned, or adrift, that meaning in their life does not depend
on success or material well-being. Ironically enough, people were upset with
the truth, maybe with the way that God decided to communicate it to them.
How did Jesus react to his critics? It would have been a contradiction for him
to use violent means to convince people that God loved them and was in fact
at peace with them. Consequently, having spoken as clearly as he could, he had
only one other way to respond to the rejection of his message: martyrdom. He
did what any real lover does: he surrendered himself into the hands of those
he loved. It wasn’t manipulation. It wasn’t a power-play. It was hardly
to his benefit. Love allowed him to do nothing else. When Fr. D’Alzon,
our founder, said that love was “intolerant”, this is what he meant.
It can tolerate nothing less than total self-surrender for the sake of the beloved.
This is very different from the hateful and destructive pseudo-martyrdom that
some practice. And while most of us will not be called to be martyrs, we are
called to be as Jesus was for our world today.
Here are some photos taken at the beatification ceremonies in Bulgaria:
Here is more information that may enlighten you as to beatification, along with more information on the Assumptionists:
BEATIFICATION: Beatification represents the official recognition by the Catholic Church that a person has demonstrated Christian virtue and courage in bearing testimony to Jesus Christ and the faith of the Church. In the case of martyrs, no miracles are required. A profound study of the circumstances surrounding the death of such witnesses seeks to discover that the real motive for the execution is indeed hatred of the Faith and desire to destroy the Church. The motives of the victims themselves is thoroughly investigated. In the case of the Assumptionist martyrs, we have the transcript of the trial with the film showing clearly the three martyrs.
ST. AUGUSTINE ACADEMY: The beatification ceremony took place in the main square of Plovdiv. It was in this city that the Assumptionists founded and staffed an Academy whose reputation far exceeded the number of students or the location. Latin Rite students mingled with Orthodox and Muslim students in an atmosphere of mutual respect and friendliness quite unusual in those times of religious and ethnic conflict. The Czar and his family usually spent the Holy Days at St. Augustine. Archbishop Roncalli, the future John XXIII, often visted the school while he was Nuncio to Bulgaria. Blessed Kamen and Pavel were stationed at this School at the time of their arrest.
ASSUMPTIONISTS ON THE WAY TO BEATIFICATION: The Bulgarian martyrs are the first Assumptionists to be declared blessed. Others are at various stages in the process. Fr. d'Alzon, the founder of the Augustinians of the Assumption, and Fr. Pernet, the founder of the Little Sisters of the Assumption, have been declared "Venerable." After examining their writings and witnesses to their lives, the Church has decleared the "heroicity of their virtues." This means that the Church officially recognizes that they lived virtuously according to Gospel principles.