Father Alexander Men (Priest, Activist, Martyr)

“Often what passes for Orthodoxy or another Christian confession is simply natural religiosity which, in its own right, is a kind of opium of the people. It functions as a sort of spiritual anaesthetic, it helps a person adjust to his surrounding world, over which one can hang the slogan: ‘Blessed is the one who believes that it is cozy in the world.’ This is all wrong! …Your God is a consuming fire and not a warm hearth, and he is calling you to a place where all sorts of cold winds are blowing, so that what you imagine does not exist…” 1

So goes the opening volley in just one of Father Men’s unapologetic challenges to the Russian, and global Christian on the ever growing comfort culture assuaging version of Christianity.

Father Men could be (and no doubt was) labelled a zealot by many and of course, worse by his detractors and even more scathing were his many enemies. Not that Father Men would see anyone as such, but his Faith in The Creator God within Marxist Russia was more than a ‘sore point’.

In sad reality, Father Men was martyred with an axe on September 9th in 1990. The ‘axe’ is a weapon of vengeance – perhaps even a vendetta – in Russian culture.

For starters, Men was born to a Jewish Mother in the ‘Catacomb’ years of Stalin’s rabid ‘persecution of God’. Being a Christian Jew, would also draw the ire of that long-persecuted community. Even concerns were expressed by the Orthodox church at his heritage and Christianity. Statements like the following in a denomination that had often transacted in ‘icons’ would be at the very least, cringe worthy to the enculturated church attending Russian,

“I find more meaning in the wing of a bird and in the branch of a tree than in five hundred icons. God has given us two books: the Bible and Creation.”

However, his influence was arguably seismic in the oppressive communist state. 

Several comparisons and titles (be it reputation based only) were given to this Spiritual activist Priest.  He was referred to as the Russian C.S. Lewis due to his apologetic writings, which was an inevitability as his powerful intellect became evident even at 13 years of age when he would pore understandingly over Immanuel Kant’s difficult philosophy. The late academic Sergei Averintsev called him… "The man sent from God to be missionary to the wild tribe of the Soviet intelligentsia." (He is accredited as the key influence in Alexander Solzhenitsyn returning to the church) And perhaps most dangerously, Father Men was referred to as the… “one man antidote to decades of Marxist propaganda!”

The night before he died Father Men spoke to a large gathering of around 600 people. After pointing out that it was absurd to say the world has no meaning (a common refrain of communism) because to say that something had no meaning can only be done by recognizing and judge it by meaning. 

To bring that point home he turned to one of his favourite subjects – being a Disciple of The Christ.

“Christ gave it (the world) a completely new sound with the words “as I have loved you;” because he remained with us in this filthy, bloody and sinful world out of self-giving love. For this reason he said that the one who would follow Him must deny himself (not his personality – for that is holy – but his ego of false self-affirmation), give himself up, take up his cross, which is to say his service in suffering and joy, then follow Him.” 2

References

1. https://theinnerkingdom.wordpress.com/2010/05/12/on-lukewarm-christianity-by-fr-alexander-men/
2. This Day in Christian History, Editors – Curtis & Graves (Christian History Institute) 

Failing Forward – The missionary endeavour we rather not talk about? 

Allen Francis Gardiner though raised in a Christian home; he gave no time for this foundation during his very successful naval career. In 1822, after a nasty illness, he re-evaluated his life and wrote the following in his journal.

“After years of ingratitude, unbelief, blasphemy and rebellion, have I last been melted? Alas, how slow, how reluctant I have been to admit the heavenly guest who stood knocking without!”

His conversion and surrender saw him harness and redeem his extensive naval expertise and experience for the service of Christian Kingdom Mission.

However, Gardiner's journey was riddled with setbacks, obstacles and hardships, yet his perseverance was extraordinary.  Three attempts to establish missionary works in South America all failed, but still he persisted. Sensing opportunities in smaller jurisdictions off the continent including the desolate Falkland Islands, he returned to England and on July 4^th 1844, established a small organisation called the Patagonian Missionary Society. He wrote… 

“I have made up my mind to go back to South America and leave no stone unturned, no efforted untried, to establish a mission among the aboriginal tribes. While God gives me strength, failure will not daunt me.”

Despite numerous failed expeditions, including his attempts to establish missions among the indigenous peoples of South America, Gardiner's resolve never wavered. Each failure, from the challenges of navigating unfamiliar terrain to the harsh climates and lack of supplies, only seemed to strengthen his determination to carry on. His ultimate sacrifice, losing his life to starvation on Picton Island while waiting for a relief ship that never arrived, is a testament to his unyielding faith and endurance. His story is a poignant reminder of the power of perseverance in the face of overwhelming odds.

Captain Allen Gardiner died without seeing a single soul saved among those for who he was most burdened. But he lit a fire that has never gone out.

Gardiner's story illustrates the resilience of an individually anchored in his Saviours call and faithful promises, even in the face of repeated failures and hardships, he remained steadfast in his mission. It's a testament to the power of conviction and unwavering faith. 

Allen’s life calling is a reminder that sometimes, the journey and the effort can be as significant as the outcome.

Sources:

•            Church Mission Society

•            Revival Carriers 

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