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Documents
…“I tell you, if they keep silent, the stones will cry out!” As he drew near, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If this day you only knew what makes for peace — but now it is hidden from your eyes.” – Luke 19:40-43
In recent years people who oppose the Christian Gospel have made the charge that Christians of the recent past have failed to oppose the evils of their time. Perhaps the most fragrant examples revolve around cases where these Christians did speak out against evil but the contemporary documentation of their words have become lost or difficult to find in today’s world. Scholars often know that such documentation exists but pretend as if it did not, thus lending apparent credence to the criticisms. Yes, Christians – and others – may be legitimately criticized in many details for their actions at such times, but not for wholesale silence.
Papal encyclical Mit Brennender Sorge (With Burning Anxiety) – dated March 14, 1937, publicly read March 21, 1937
This page lists several such historical documents and links to their full texts. Some documents of interest exist but full translations in English are unknown; they are listed on this page in the hope that translations will become available in the future. One compilation of a number of individual documents also deserves mention. It is The Power of Civil Society in a Time of Genocide: Proceedings of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church on the Rescue of the Jews in Bulgaria 1940-1944. A PDF version of this book may be read by clicking here.
It is hoped that today’s and tomorrow’s students will be able to make full use of these documents in their research.
The Today’s Martyrs site also has a Reports page that lists governmental, scholarly or advocacy reports on the plight of persecuted Christians.
December 17, 2018
- Regarding one personal response to state repression
June 29, 2018
- Regarding the continuing mass murder of Christians in Plateau state
June 21-22, 2018
The Challenge of Cultural Marxism to the Church by Bishop Gavin Ashenden
Click here for the expanded audio version from the Global Anglican Future Conference in Jerusalem
- Regarding Christian surrender to the spirit of the age
December 15, 2017
Created Male and Female: An Open Letter from Religious Leaders
- Regarding gender ideology and protection of children
November 25, 2017
Constitutional Concerns by Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ
- Regarding Hindu attacks on the secular constitution of India
September 22, 2017
Presentation on the Christian Future of Europe by Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev
- Regarding parallels between pre-Revolutionary Russia and today’s Europe
August 29, 2017
The Nashville Statement by A Coalition for Biblical Sexuality
- Regarding the Biblical basis of traditional Christian marriage
August 12, 2017
Homily in Remembrance of the Vendean Revolt by Cardinal Robert Sarah
- Regarding Christian resistance to persecution and the imposition of policies that attack the family
August 4, 2017
An Open Letter to the Heads of all Churches and other Christian Leaders signed by one hundred prominent Indian Christians
- Regarding the need for Christian determination and unity in the face of the steady shift from a pluralist and secular democracy to a Hindu Rashtra [the supremacist Land of the Hindus], and the systematic undermining of the Constitution
July 12, 2017
Urgent Message to Catholics and People of Good Will in Venezuela by the Bishops of Venezuela
- Regarding persecution, constitutional violations, and suffering due to economic collapse
May 21, 2017
Letter from Depok Jail [Indonesia] by Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama aka Ahok
- Regarding forgiveness for wrongful prosecution
February 28, 2017
Statement by Angaelos, General Bishop of the United Kingdom
- Regarding the accelerating murders of Christians in Egypt
February 5, 2017
- Regarding the extrajudicial killing of persons involved in the illegal drug trade
January 13, 2017
Pastoral exhortation Jesus Christ, the Light and the Way for Venezuela by the Bishops of Venezuela
- Regarding the continuing economic and political crisis – no full translation available
December 10, 2016
Pastoral letter Enough of the Bloodshed by the Bishops of Kafanchan, Nigeria
- Regarding civil conflict with Muslim herdsmen
April 29, 2016
Pastoral letter Stop This Madness! by the Bishop of Nsukka, Nigeria, Godfrey Igwebuike
- Regarding the massacre at Nimbo
April 16, 1963
Letter from Birmingham Jail [Birmingham, Alabama, USA] by Rev Martin Luther King Jr.
- Regarding timely opposition to racial segregation
July 14, 1958
Encyclical On Prayers for the Persecuted Church by Pope Pius XII
- Regarding persecution in the East, the Cold War, and the allure of vice in the West
June 29, 1958
Encyclical On Communism And The Church In China by Pope Pius XII
- Regarding persecution in China
February 11, 1956
Pastoral Letter The Morality of Racial Segregation by the Archbishop of New Orleans, Joseph Rummel
- Regarding the incompatibility of racial segregation with Christian doctrine
October 7, 1954
Encyclical On the Super-Nationality of the Church by Pope Pius XII
- Regarding persecution in China
March 15, 1953
Pastoral Letter Blessed are the Peacemakers by the Archbishop of New Orleans, Joseph Rummel
- Regarding the end of racial segregation in the Church
December 15, 1952
Encyclical The Oriental Churches by Pope Pius XII
- Regarding persecution in Bulgaria and Ukraine
January 18, 1952
Apostolic Letter The Catholic Church in China by Pope Pius XII – translation required
- Regarding persecution in China
Autumn 1944
Letter from the Archbishop of Cologne, Germany, Josef Frings
- Regarding the persecution of the Jews – no full translation available
May 18, 1944
Homily by the Bishop of Alba Iulia, Romania, Aron Marton
- Regarding the persecution of the Jews – no full translation available
March 1944
Homily by the Archbishop of Cologne, Germany, Josef Frings
- Regarding the persecution of the Jews – no full translation available
June 29, 1943
Encyclical On the Mystical Body of Christ by Pope Pius XII
- Regarding racial hatred and the murder of the unfit
June 1943
Homily by the Archbishop of Cologne, Germany, Josef Frings
- Regarding the persecution of the Jews and other non-Germans – no full translation available
May 24, 1943
Homily by the Metropolitan of Sofia, Bulgaria, Stefan Popgueorguiev
- Regarding the persecution of the Jews – no full translation available
March 23, 1943
Letter from the Archbishop of Athens, Greece, Damakinos Papandreou
- Regarding the persecution of the Jews
December 24, 1942
Vatican Radio broadcast Holy Christmas and Aching Humanity by Pope Pius XII
- Regarding the persecution of all minorities
December 1942
Pastoral letter by the Archbishop of Cologne, Germany, Josef Frings
- Regarding the persecution of the Jews and other non-Germans – no full translation available
November 21, 1942
Pastoral letter Thou Shalt Not Kill by the Metropolitan of Lviv, Ukraine, Andrey Sheptytsky
- Regarding the Ukrainian civil conflict and complicity with Nazi atrocities
November 15, 1942
Letter from the Bishops of Norway to the Quisling government
- Regarding the persecution of the Jews – no full translation available
November 1942
Homily by the Bishop of Berlin, Germany, Konrad von Preysing
- Regarding the right to life of all persons – no full translation available
August 30, 1942
Pastoral letter by the Archbishop of Toulouse, France, Jules-Geraud Saliege
- Regarding the persecution and deportation of the Jews – no full translation available
July 26, 1942
Pastoral letter by the Bishops of the Netherlands
- Regarding the persecution of the Jews
June 21, 1942
Homily by the Bishop of Berlin, Germany, Konrad von Preysing
- Regarding the persecution of the Jews – no full translation available
May 24, 1942
Pastoral letter by the Archbishop of Zagreb, Croatia, Aloysius Viktor Stepinac
- no full translation available
August 3, 1941
Homily by the Bishop of Munster, Germany, Clemens August Graf von Galen
- Regarding the murder of the unfit by the German State
July 20, 1941
Homily by the Bishop of Munster, Germany, Clemens August Graf von Galen
- Regarding persecution by the German Gestapo
July 13, 1941
Homily by the Bishop of Munster, Germany, Clemens August Graf von Galen
- Regarding persecution by the German Gestapo
March 1941
Homily by the Bishop of Berlin, Germany, Konrad von Preysing
- Regarding the murder of the unfit by the German State – no full translation available
June 23, 1940
Homily by Pastor Andre Trocme, Chambon-sur-Lignon, France
- Regarding non-cooperation with the German occupation – no full translation available
October 20, 1939
Encyclical On the Supreme Pontificate AKA Darkness Over the Earth by Pope Pius XII
- Regarding racism, totalitarianism, and war and persecution in Poland
January 25, 1939
Pastoral letter of the Bishop of Presov, Slovakia, Pavel Peter Gojdic
- Regarding the persecution of the Jews – no full translation available
September 29, 1937
Encyclical On the Rosary by Pope Pius XI
- Regarding persecution by the totalitarian ideologies
March 21, 1937
Encyclical With Burning Anxiety by Pope Pius XI
- Regarding persecution in Germany
March 19, 1937
Encyclical Of the Divine Redeemer by Pope Pius XI
- Regarding persecution in Mexico, Spain, and the Soviet Union
February 9, 1936
Homily by the Bishop of Munster, Germany, Clemens August Graf von Galen
- Regarding current martyrdom
May 31, 1934
Declaration of the Barmen Synod, Germany
- Regarding the imposition of Nazi ideology on the Protestant churches
January 29, 1934
Pastoral letter by the Bishop of Munster, Germany, Clemens August Graf von Galen
- Regarding German neo-paganism – no full translation available
June 3, 1933
Encyclical Most dear to us by Pope Pius XI
- Regarding persecution in Spain
September 29, 1932
Encyclical Sorrow of soul by Pope Pius XI
- Regarding persecution in Mexico
June 29, 1931
Encyclical We do not need by Pope Pius XI
- Regarding persecution in Italy
November 18, 1926
Encyclical Iniquitous affliction by Pope Pius XI
- Regarding persecution in Mexico
November 7, 1918
Epistle to the Soviet of People’s Commissars by Patriarch Tikhon aka Vasily Ivanovich Bellavin
- Regarding the Russian Civil War and persecution by the Communists
Meditations – Down the Memory Hole Technical Difficulties
Documents