"As Many As Have Been Baptized Into Christ"

This morning we sang this hymn for Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem after his raising of Lazarus.

For some of us, however, this hymn holds an additional, slightly different meaning. Father Nektarios has this account of Orthodox persecution during World War II:

Bishop Sava (Trlaich) of Plalski (Lika) was imprisoned on June 13, 1941 and tortured beyond endurance in a stable along with several priests. During their beatings a phonograph recording of "As many as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ" was played. The bishop-confessor was permitted to say good-bye to his 83-year-old mother, albeit with his hands tied and his feet shackled. In mid-August of the same year he was taken to the Velebit Mountain and thrown into a pit with numerous other Serbs.