Athanasius A

Athanasius A was a man aged 62, crippled and bent over, a descendant of the Albazinians. He was killed on 11 June 1900 (old style; 24 June in the new), during the Boxer Rising, at the Andingmen gate. The same list also names members of his family: wife Barbara; son Sabbas; daughters Pelagia and Maria.

The Albazinians are the descendants of the Russian prisoners from Albazin, brought to Beijing in 1685, with whom the Orthodox community in China began. His name stands in the list of the 222 Orthodox Christians killed in 1900, drawn up in 1904 by the Brotherhood of the Orthodox Church in China, on the testimony of relatives, neighbours and witnesses.

In 1902 the Holy Synod of the Russian Church allowed the local veneration of the Chinese martyrs, and in 2016 its Council of Bishops blessed their veneration throughout the Russian Church. They are commemorated together on 11 June (old style).