NationStates Jolt Archive

Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050926/od_afp/russiareligionmilitaryoffbeat_050926150901;_ylt=Aq5qFwGkDRXC6YL78eml3iys0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3NW1oMDRpBH NlYwM3NTc-)

Historic Russian admiral Fyodor Ushakov -- a hero of Russia's wars against Turkey and Napoleon Bonaparte -- was designated the patron saint of nuclear-armed, long-distance Russian bombers by the Orthodox Church.

Russian Patriarch Alexei II, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, carried a reliquary and an icon of the admiral, who was canonised in 2004, into the Moscow chapel of the Russian Air Force's 37th Air Army in Moscow, Russia's RIA Novosti news agency said Monday.

"I am sure he will become your intermediary as you fulfil your responsible duties to the fatherland in the long-range air force," the patriarch said.

"His strong faith helped Saint Fyodor Ushakov in all his battles," the religious leader said, reminding his audience that the famous admiral of the 18th and 19th centuries never lost a battle.

Fyodor Ushakov distinguished himself in numerous naval battles in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, most notably in the Russo-Turkish war between 1787 and 1791.

But his reforms of the navy were not popular in the upper echelons of the Russian imperial administration and Tsar Alexander I forced Ushakov to retire to Tambov province south-east of Moscow in 1807, where he died in 1817 aged 73.

Ushakov's canonisation as a saint in 2004 follows a strong tradition in Russia of close relations between the Orthodox Church and the state, which was revived after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.


Well, when the bombs are flying, you'll know who to pray to... :D

Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050926/od_afp/russiareligionmilitaryoffbeat_050926150901;_ylt=Aq5qFwGkDRXC6YL78eml3iys0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3NW1oMDRpBH NlYwM3NTc-)

Well, when the bombs are flying, you'll know who to pray to... :D

Sounds ok to me. There is already a patron saint of handguns. St. Possenti.

And he's Catholic.

I thought Slim Pickens was the Patron Saint of Nuclear Bombers.

See this is the kind of news I like to here. I'm glad someones thinking about these important issues. God knows the news is awful depressing sometimes, but this, this just cheers me right up.

I thought Slim Pickens was the Patron Saint of Nuclear Bombers.

Come on he was a southerner, probably a protestant, that rules him out of saint hood. Mind you I think he inspired to conservative christian hard liners to lead the world to destruction though if that counts for anything.

However, telemarketers and spammers still lack a patron saint.

Though perhaps this would be better handled by another agency. I'll have to see if there's such a thing as patron demons. :p

Does the Catholic church have a patron saint of the Mafia?
Does the Orthodox church have one for the Russian Mafia?

Does the Catholic church have a patron saint of the Mafia?
Does the Orthodox church have one for the Russian Mafia?

I doubt it, but you never know... :D

I thought Slim Pickens was the Patron Saint of Nuclear Bombers.
Heh (http://tylerzander.com/images/slim.jpg)

The St. Gabriel Possenti Society promotes the public recognition of St. Gabriel Possenti, including his Vatican designation as Patron Saint of Handgunners.

St. Gabriel Possenti was a Catholic seminarian whose marksmanship and proficiency with handguns single-handedly saved the village of Isola, Italy from a band of 20 terrorists in 1860.

The Possenti Society offers a variety of materials related to St. Gabriel Possenti and a biblical understanding of self-defense.

The Savior of Isola

In 1860, a band of soldiers from the army of Garibaldi entered the mountain village of Isola, Italy. They began to burn and pillage the town, terrorizing its inhabitants.

Possenti, with his seminary rector's permission, walked into the center of town, unarmed, to face the terrorists. One of the soldiers was dragging off a young woman he intended to rape when he saw Possenti and made a snickering remark about such a young monk being all alone.

Possenti quickly grabbed the soldier's revolver from his belt and ordered the marauder to release the woman. The startled soldier complied, as Possenti grabbed the revolver of another soldier who came by. Hearing the commotion, the rest of the soldiers came running in Possenti's direction, determined to overcome the rebellious monk.

At that moment a small lizard ran across the road between Possenti and the soldiers. When the lizard briefly paused, Possenti took careful aim and struck the lizard with one shot. Turning his two handguns on the approaching soldiers, Possenti commanded them to drop their weapons. Having seen his handiwork with a pistol, the soldiers complied. Possenti ordered them to put out the fires they had set, and upon finishing, marched the whole lot out of town, ordering them never to return. The grateful townspeople escorted Possenti in triumphant procession back to the seminary, thereafter referring to him as "the Savior of Isola".

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Well, when the bombs are flying, you'll know who to pray to... :DGoodness...(I wish there was a shake head smiley)

It's interesting (and a bit instructive) that St. Gabriel Possenti managed to demonstrate his handgun prowess without killing anyone. (Well, except for the lizard. But you get my point.)

:p

It's interesting (and a bit instructive) that St. Gabriel Possenti managed to demonstrate his handgun prowess without killing anyone. (Well, except for the lizard. But you get my point.)

:p

I wonder where he got the skill from? It's not like firearms is something you gain proficiency in instinctively is it?

Shots like that happen frequently, but rarely on demand.

I can hear him saying, "I meant to do that!"

I wonder where he got the skill from? It's not like firearms is something you gain proficiency in instinctively is it?

Well, he probably wasn't a monk his entire life, so he may have had some training with firearms before he entered the monastery. Or it could have been an extraordinarily lucky, i.e. "miraculous", shot. Who knows?

:p

Shots like that happen frequently, but rarely on demand.

I can hear him saying, "I meant to do that!"

I bet :D :D

Come on he was a southerner, probably a protestant, that rules him out of saint hood. Mind you I think he inspired to conservative christian hard liners to lead the world to destruction though if that counts for anything.
Yah, so? I think the Blessed Commie Athiest Stanislav Petrov should be the Patron Saint of Nuke Bunker Technicians - for lo, he DID save mankind...