Ignatius

The holy New Martyr Ignatius (Bazyluk) was born in Poland in the 1860s and received the name Jacob at his Baptism. Very little is known of his early life or where he was born. In the period between the two World Wars he was a monk at Saint Onuphrios Monastery in Jabłeczna, where at his tonsure he received the monastic name Ignatius. Father Ignatius was one of the oldest monks in the monastery and fulfilled the obedience of ringing the bells for church services.

In September 1939 the monastery buildings were occupied by German soldiers, who confiscated the monastery's food supplies and livestock. In spite of this, the monks did not close the monastery but wrote a letter of protest to the commander of the occupying army, to no effect. On the night of 9-10 August 1942 the guards set fire to the monastery, destroying the inner section. The monks fled the buildings and gathered in the courtyard. The Germans would not allow the fire to be put out and threatened to shoot the monks. A few monks escaped, but Ignatius ran to the bell tower and began ringing the bell to warn the residents of the area of the danger. He was attacked and beaten to death by some of the soldiers. Residents of Jabłeczna arrived to help and were also detained. The Germans forced the monks to dig graves, and then shot everyone in the courtyard. There were no survivors. Ignatius was buried in the monastery cemetery, and his relics were later transferred to the Saint Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.

Saint Ignatius is regarded as one of the martyrs of Chelm and Podlasie. He is commemorated on 9 August (new style; 22 August on the old calendar), the date of his martyrdom, and on 20 March, the date of his glorification by the Orthodox Church of Poland in 2003.