Polen: Orthodox Church proclaims canonization of Katyn Martyrs

The Polish Orthodox Church proclaimed the canonization of three priests martyred in the 1940 Katyn Massacre during a solemn ceremony September 16, at the Church of Hagia Sophia-Wisdom of God in Warsaw. His Beatitude Metropolitan Sawa, primate of the Orthodox Church in Poland, read the canonization decree before the Divine Liturgy, which was celebrated by numerous hierarchs of the Polish Church, and presented the icon of the new martyrs, reports radio.bialystok.pl.

The ceremony honored Archpriest Colonel Szymon Fedorońko, Archpriest Lieutenant Colonel Wiktor Romanowski, and Archpriest Major Włodzimierz Ochab, along with other Orthodox clergy and faithful who perished in the Soviet massacre. Met. Sawa recalled that throughout Christian history, the blood of martyrs has always borne fruit in new Christians, becoming a source of the Church’s spiritual renewal. He emphasized that inscribing the Katyn Martyrs into the diptych of saints is a solemn testimony to the truth of their faith, strength of spirit, and unwavering service to Mother Church.

The primate highlighted the great synthesis of the history of Orthodoxy in Poland, placing the 20th-century witnesses of faith in the context of both national and ecclesiastical history. He recalled that in September 1939, facing the invasion of the republic, the late Metropolitan Dionysius called upon the faithful to defend the Fatherland, praying for God’s blessing and victory over the enemy. This appeal was answered by clergy and laity who gave the ultimate testimony of faithfulness: the martyrs of Katyn and Auschwitz, soldiers fighting at Tobruk and Monte Cassino, participants in the Warsaw Uprising, and many other dramatic wartime events. Met. Sawa emphasized that with the proclamation of their sanctity, the faithful have received new intercessors at the throne of the Almighty, who are not only witnesses of history but also spiritual guardians of the nation. After his address, the troparion, kontakion, and magnification of the saints were formally sung for the first time. 

Fr. Panteleimon, a lecturer at the Orthodox Theological Seminary, delivered the homily during the Liturgy, emphasizing, among other things, the spiritual paradox of martyrdom: What appears from the world’s perspective as defeat and weakness, in reality manifests as a victory of faith and love. He presented the martyrs as true witnesses of God’s presence even in places of the greatest evil, who through their suffering and death transformed the tragedy of Katyn into a gateway to Paradise, and turned every drop of spilled blood into a seed bearing new generations of Christians.

He also mentioned the exceptional attitude of the Katyn chaplains, who without abandoning the soldiers remained their spiritual guides until the sacrifice of their lives. Fr. Panteleimon noted that the memory of the Katyn victims—forbidden for decades—survived and became a silent testimony to the crime and hope for the victory of life over death. The celebration also included a procession around the church with the icon of the newly canonized martyrs.

The three canonized priests served as military chaplains in the Polish Army of the Second Republic. After being captured by Soviet forces in September 1939, they were imprisoned in camps at Kozelsk, Ostashkov, and Starobelsk, where they secretly conducted religious services for fellow prisoners. In 1940, they were executed at various locations including Katyn, Tver, and Kharkiv. The Polish Orthodox Council of Bishops initially approved their canonization on March 18. Their feast day has been designated as September 17. The Church estimates that several thousand Orthodox Christians were among the approximately 22,000 victims of the Katyn Massacre.

On September 15 evening, a preparatory service was held at the Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Mary Magdalene in Warsaw, where the icon of the Katyn Martyrs was brought into the church.

St. Szymon Fedorońko (1893-1940) was born near Sanok and graduated from Zhytomyr Theological Seminary before being ordained at the Pochaev Lavra in 1917. He served as head of the Orthodox military chaplaincy in Przemyśl from 1922 and later became acting head of the Military Pastoral Office of the Orthodox Faith. In 1937, he was elevated to the rank of protopresbyter by Metropolitan Dionysius.

Fr. Szymon was active in translating Holy Scripture and Orthodox services into Polish and worked in journalism. Captured near Rivne in 1939, he was imprisoned at Starobelsk camp before being transferred to Butyr Prison in Moscow in March 1940. Soviet authorities reportedly offered him collaboration opportunities and honorary Church positions, which he refused. He was subsequently transferred to Kozelsk and shot in the Katyn Forest in April 1940.

His three sons also died heroically during World War II: Orest and Vyacheslav were killed during the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944 as Home Army soldiers, while Aleksander died in 1944 fighting with Polish forces in the West near Mannheim. Fr. Szymon was posthumously awarded the Order of the White Eagle by the President of Poland.

St. Wiktor Romanowski (1899-1940) was born in Temnohajce, Kremenets District, and graduated from Zhytomyr Theological Seminary in 1917. After studying briefly at St. Vladimir University in Kiev, he was ordained a priest in 1921 by Bishop Dionysius. He earned a master’s degree in Orthodox theology from the University of Warsaw, defending a distinguished thesis on the dogmatic teachings of St. Irenaeus of Lyon.

Fr. Wiktor served as auxiliary chaplain in Vladimir from 1930 and later as district chaplain in Warsaw. In 1939, he began lecturing in basic theology at the Orthodox Theological Seminary at the University of Warsaw. He was also a member of the Synodal commission for translating Holy Scripture into Polish. During the September 1939 campaign, he served at a University of Warsaw field hospital. After being captured by Soviet forces on September 17, he was imprisoned at Ostashkov camp and later shot in Tver in 1940, buried in mass graves near Mednoye.

St. Włodzimierz Ochab (1900-1940) was born in Nehrybka village near Przemyśl. After completing high school and military service, he farmed his family’s land before joining the movement of Lemko population returning to Orthodoxy in 1927. He studied at the University of Warsaw and was ordained a priest in 1931.

Metropolitan Dionysius assigned him to serve in the Lemko region, where many were returning to Orthodoxy. From 1936, he served as pastor in Buśno, Hrubieszów County, during the period when Orthodox churches were being demolished. Despite threats and fines from local authorities, he refused to abandon his parish and continued conducting services, saving his church from destruction.

In September 1938, Fr. Włodzimierz was appointed prison chaplain with the rank of captain in Drohobych. After being arrested by the NKVD on October 13, 1939, he was imprisoned first at Shepetivka camp, then at Ostashkov. On April 22, 1940, he was transported to Tver, shot, and buried in mass graves at Mednoye. (Quelle: www.orthochristian.com, 17. September 2025)