On August 13, 2026, the day of commemoration of the Holy Martyr Veniamin, Metropolitan of Petrograd, and others who were killed with him, Mikhail Malevich's oratorio "The Sufferer to Golgotha" was performed in the Great Hall of the Philharmonic Hall in St. Petersburg. The memorial evening was organized by the St. Petersburg Archdiocese, St. Isaac's Cathedral, the Holy Trinity Alexander Nevsky Lavra, and the Society of Zealots of the Memory of the Holy Martyr Benjamin.
The work is based on a letter of testament written by Metropolitan Veniamin (Kazansky) from a solitary cell on Shpalernaya Street, which was addressed to his friend— Archpriest Peter Ivanovsky, rector of the Church of St. Andrew of Crete on Rizhsky Prospekt.
Before the concert, Metropolitan Feodor of Volgograd and Kamyshinsky and Bishop Veniamin of Kronstadt laid flowers at a memorial plaque that reads: "In this hall in 1922, Metropolitan Veniamin of Petrograd, Archimandrite Sergiy (Shein), laypeople Yuri Novitsky, John Kovsharov were sentenced to death. The place of execution of the sentence is unknown." The plaque was consecrated by Metropolitan Varsonofy of St. Petersburg and Ladoga on August 13, 2022.
Bishop Mstislav of Tikhvin and Lodeynopol, Bishop Siluan of Peterhof, and the clergy of the St. Petersburg Diocese were present in the hall.
Vladyka Veniamin read out the welcoming remarks of His Holiness Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, and Varsonofy, Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga. The greeting of Governor Alexander Beglov was read out.
The performance of the oratorio lasts 45 minutes, which is how long the reading of the verdict of the Revolutionary Tribunal lasted in 1922. At the end of the oratorio, choristers, musicians and the audience, led by Lev Dunaev, sang the magnification of the Holy Martyr Benjamin. 
Vladimir Lypari, Chairman of the Society of Devotees of the Memory of the Holy Martyr Veniamin, recalled that this organization arose with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, who also blessed the holding of evenings in memory of Metropolitan Veniamin in St. Petersburg.
"An oratorio goes beyond a piece of music,— said V. Lypari. — The effect on the audience was felt already at the first performance — almost half of the audience was in tears. Historical memory allows us to move on, because the people cannot have a future if they do not remember the past and do not honor the patron saints of our city. It is important to talk about the feat of Metropolitan Benjamin to the youth of today, so that they understand that our great-grandfathers suffered for Christ. Metropolitan Veniamin won popular love and was elected to the Petrograd pulpit by the flock itself, which happened for the first time in our city. We try to ensure that young people participate in our projects. And today the choir consists of young guys."
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From June 10 to July 5, 1922, a trial was held in the former Hall of the Noble Assembly (now the Great Hall of the Philharmonic) in a trumped-up case "On resistance to the seizure of Church valuables." Metropolitan Veniamin, Archimandrite Sergiy (Shein), lawyers Ivan Kovsharov and Yuri Novitsky were sentenced to death by firing squad. "Whatever you declare, I will accept it as God's will. Thank You, Lord God, for everything!" said the holy martyr at the trial. The sentence was carried out on the night of August 13, the place of execution is unknown. In 1992, at the Bishops' Council, Metropolitan Veniamin and others like him were canonized.
The oratorio was first performed on August 13, 2022, on the 100th anniversary of the death of the New Martyrs.
Photo: Marina Kurakina