Polish Church canonizes the Katyn Martyrs

Metropolitan Sawa with the icon of the new martyrs. Photo: official page of the Polish Orthodox Church

On September 16, 2025, the Polish Orthodox Church proclaimed the canonization of three priests killed during the Katyn massacre of 1940. The solemn liturgy and ceremony took place at the Church of Hagia Sophia – Holy Wisdom of God in Warsaw, according to the official page of the Polish Orthodox Church.

Metropolitan Sawa, Primate of the Polish Church, read the decree of canonization and stressed that “the blood of martyrs has always borne fruit for the Church and the people.” He noted that the glorification of the new martyrs as saints is “a testimony to their true faith, strength of spirit, and steadfast service to the Mother Church.”

Those canonized as saints are Archpriest Szymon Fedoronko, Archpriest Viktor Romanowski, and Archpriest Włodzimierz Ochab – military chaplains of the Polish Army executed by Soviet forces in Katyn, Tver, and Kharkiv. Despite their imprisonment in camps, they secretly celebrated services and supported fellow prisoners until their deaths.

During the service, the troparion, kontakion, and magnification to the new saints were sung for the first time. After the liturgy, a procession was held with the icon of the new martyrs. “What from the world’s perspective appears as defeat, is in reality the victory of faith and love,” said Fr. Panteleimon, a seminary lecturer, in his sermon. He noted that the sufferings of the Katyn priests “turned tragedy into the gates of Paradise, and their blood became the seed from which new generations of Christians are born.”

Metropolitan Sawa gave special attention to historical memory: “In September 1939, Metropolitan Dionysius called on the faithful to defend the Fatherland. Many answered this call at the cost of their lives – in Katyn, Auschwitz, during the Warsaw Uprising. Today we see that their sacrifice has not been forgotten but has become the foundation of spiritual rebirth.”

The memory of the canonized martyrs will be commemorated annually on September 17 – the anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939. “With the proclamation of their sainthood, the faithful have gained new intercessors before the throne of God, who will be the spiritual guardians of our nation,” the Primate emphasized.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that a hierarch of the UOC participated in the congress of monastics of the Polish Orthodox Church.

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