Fr. Iliya. Author of the site "Orthodox Church of Mother of God Derzavnaya"

Orthodox Church of Mother of God Derzavnaya
Marian movement in Russia

Father Iliya Popov, Dr.

o. Iliya (Popov). Moscow 2006

Father Iliya (in the world, Mikhail N. Popov) was born in Michurinsk, Tambov Region, 1958. Received a degree in technical sciences at Moscow's Machine-Tool Institute, 1982, though his interests laid with literature, Western and Oriental philosophy, and Russian history. A search for genuine values brought Mikhail to Christian conversion when a fourth-year student.

Determining his final choice of a way in life was close communication with Veniamin Bereslavsky, ascetic of the Catacomb Church and prominent author of edifying literature (now Archbishop John). They shared their innermost thoughts with each other on joint pilgrimages.

Mikhail met mystics and ascetics, read patristic literature and ecclesiastical history, and circulated religious books on the Samizdat. A revelation of the Blessed Virgin in Smolensk, November 1984, determined his future. Mikhail took monastic vows in the Catacomb Church, and was ordained priest. He spent several years working in the world-years full of communication with people of the like mind.

Father Iliya later entered the Moscow monastery of the True Orthodox Catacomb Church under the aegis of the Most Pure Virgin to edit Archbishop John's books. He met many hierarchs and priests of the Catacomb Church. Mother Euphrosenia, renowned mystic of Pochayev, was his spiritual teacher. Schemetropolitan Theodosius (Gumennikov) (of the True Orthodox Church), catacomb’s bishop Adrian and Metropolitan John (Bodnarchuk) of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church blessed him for missionarism.

Father Iliya joined the clergy and hierarchs of the Church to preach the Light of New Holy Russia on many travels after the public charitable and educational foundation, Centre of the Mother of God, received an official status in 1991, and the Moscow community of the Church a year later. In 1991-93, he was member of an ad hoc commission for prison inspection, crime prevention and rehabilitation of convicts under the Moscow municipal council. In May 1992, Father Iliya was one of the many priests to join the UN-affiliated international oecumenical organisation, The Order of the Transfiguration. The same year, Archbishop John blessed him to teach liturgical theology, history of the Catacomb Church and patristics in seminars and at the Theological Academy alongside further work with New Holy Russia Publishers.

Father Iliya compiled the books The White Light of Russia, The Martyr Catacomb Church, Joseph of Volotsk: 500 Years of Russian Inquisition (3 vols.), Can the Church Be Holy?, The Rout of Antichrist and the Saints' Triumph, and many others. In addition to current editing of our texts (you can see some of them on our site) he compiled several books dedicated to spiritual history of Russia. Some of them were published on the site “The White Light of Russia”. It is the collection of articles about heroes of White Guard, Saint Emperors’ Couple, ascetic Grigory the New. You can read it on the page “The books of New Saint Russia” in the programs HTM (*.htm) and HELP (*.help).

“The Martyr Catacomb Church” is the prophetic book about the birth of light-bringing Church of Saints and about catastrophic downfall of institutional churches in modern period of Mother of God Revelations all over the world before the Transfiguration. This book was written by priests of Mother of God Church which is a successor of Russian True-Orthodox Church. (Russian True-Orthodox Church was consisted of orthodox priests, monks and believers who refused the agreement with red regime and came to catacombs).

The True-Orthodox Church is not a new confession or a part of Russian Orthodox Church. It’s well known that Russian Orthodox Church was created in 1943 according to Stalin’s order by the soviet officials and priests who became sectarians and were anathematized by Patriarch Tikhon in 1918th and then by metropolitan of Saint-Petersburg — Saint Benjamin of Kazan and by Sobor of confessors of Solovky. Some of the religion’s explorers of the soviet period (for example, professor Gordiyenko) called them new renewers, but in the church’s literature they are more often called “sergians” — follower of Stalin’s hierarch Sergy Stragorodsky. Putting to death their brothers in Stalin’s concentration camp’s and confessing the false image of God and the church, sergians moved away from Synod of Russian confessors and new-martyrs.

The True-Orthodox Church inherited the baptism of Ancient Russia and blessings of Apostle Andrew and saint prince Nikolay-Askold, saint princess Olga and saint prince Vladimir. In the persecutions’ time it went on to bring Light of Truth — Jesus Christ, gained wonderful gifts of the Holy Spirit, came to the top of Calvary and was highlighted by Favour’s light. Its deals and spirituals fruit which feed all the humanity are the best evidence of its truth. We can identify church’s institute by its “poisoned” fruit — leaving the way of Saints in the 4^th century (in Russia — in Josef of Volokolamsk period). Only the church which confesses Saint Virgin Maria to be its Mother and protectress and God alive to be its head, which follows precepts of holiness and truth, is true. We mention as true-orthodox all our honored fathers — from Saint Apostles to Antony and Feodosius of Pechery, Seraphim of Sarov, Nil of Sor, Joahn of Kronshtadt, Innokenty the Baltic, Seraphim of Solovky and his brothers in faith, and at last Gennady Sekach — the last hierarch and head of the True-Orthodox Church.

Three volumes “Joseph of Volotsk: 500 Years of Russian Inquisition”, “The Orthodoxy of saints and inquisitors”, “The Rout of Antichrist and the Saints' Triumph” compose Saint Fathers’ doctrine about last times’ temptations added with God’s and Saint Virgin’s Revelations in the XIX-XXI cent. received by visionaries of West and East Churches.

Priest Iliya and writer Zoe Krahmalnikova The great mark of our time is evangelic light which appears on the ecumenical altars of Our Lord and Saint Virgin, transforms our hearts, opens the doors of the kingdom of heaven and brings close the true image of God. This light makes the hidden and secret things be open and unmasks the spirit which came to tempt the world. Our Saint Mother does want to return the humanity to Her Son, to face the world to Father of Heaven, to protect it against the future disasters, to strengthen Her faithful ones that fight against unusual temptations. Each of them has to conquer the enemy of holiness inside of themselves.

A church council of October 1997 gave him the degree of Doctor of Theology honoris causa.

Wonderful light of Her Eternal Immaculate Maternity unites the holy hearts of all people regardless of their confessions, countries etc. in one universal’s family which appears before Our Lord Eyes.

He shot by cameras. You can see his photos here: http://club.foto.ru/register/user.php?u_id=5023 .

Open the page of site and you’ll see the table of photos’ names. Click the camera’s image to the left of column “name” and you’ll see little previews. Click the name of photo and you’ll see the photo itself.

It’s better to open by the following way: 1) place the spire on the image or the name of photo, 2) press right mouse’s button, 3) place the spire in appearing menu on the line “To open in the new window”, 4) press left mouse’s button or ENTER button, 5) wait a little, till it opens.

If you don’t want to wait till the new page opens you can immediately select another photo in the same window and repeat all procedure. Then you could open several pages at once - each one in a new window.

There are estimations and discussion under the photo. You can see some photos from cycle of The Martyr Catacomb Church and others on our site "Liki Sva'toy Rusi" (Ru).

Father Ilia is planning to organize in the Webb the exhibition dedicated to Solovky, Catacomb Church, Solovky’s Martyrs-Ascetics and Saints’ victory over hell and death. He would be glad to receive any help and consultation.

Father Iliya shot videofilms of shrines of the Catacomb Church in Solovki; Ukraine's Grushevo, where Our Lady has been appearing from 1985 to this day, and Mervichi, site of Her appearance in 1997.

He regularly contacts ascetics of the Catacomb Church, pursues clerical duties at the Church of Mother of God Derzavnaya, and teaches at the Theological Academy. At present, he is compiling and updating the Web-page of the Church. I shall greatly appreciate all help and advice. E-mail: ave@avemaria.ru

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In addition to work in the publish house and Spiritual Academy Father Ilia starts to organize and update Webb-page dedicated to our Wonderful Church http://user.transit.ru/~maria http://www.avemaria.ru .

God bless you!
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