There was one man, V. F. Voino-Yasenetsky. He got the profession of a surgeon, and he was also deeply religious and was soon ordained a priest. He remained a su

There was one man, V. F. Voino-Yasenetsky. He got the profession of a surgeon, and he was also deeply religious and was soon ordained a priest. He remained a surgeon though and worked as such for the rest of his life. Thing is, it all happened in early Soviet years when the government was actively opposing and suppressing the church. He was in the middle of this struggle and it was rather hard for him. At one moment, for example, he though of burning himself in a church that was about to be closed. This didn’t happen and he was eventually sent to an exile somewhere far in Siberia. Yet when the war started he wrote a letter to the officials saying that he, as a surgeon with a lot of experience, wanted to be of help and asked to be sent into a hospital closer to the frontlines. And also added that “when the war ends I’m ready to return back to the exile”. Russian history is rich and convoluted and may look controversial to an outsider. But it is not really that to an insider. The controversial parts are just tragic. (Later that man got Stalin prize for his book about surgery, although they did not let him put “Archbishop Luke” as the author and published it under his civil name.)