Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
Isaiah 53:4-5
Gregory Nikolsky (1918)
Shot in the Mouth
On 27 June 1918, the Reverend Gregory Nikolsky of Mary Magdalene monastery in Russia was taken out through the gates by the Communist troops. They forced him to open his mouth and shouted, “We will also give you the sacrament.” They then shot him in the mouth.
When the Communists came to power in 1917 they launched an allout attack on Orthodox churches and Christians. Gregory’s death is one example of the type of atrocities that took place.
Christ is a substitute for everything, but nothing is a substitute for Christ.
Henry Allan Ironside (1876-1951)