Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Undeniable

Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. Matthew 10:32-33

This news story, published at the blog
Blagodatniy Ogon’, seems to have missed the English-speaking mass media. I noticed it first at Fr Milovan's blog, Again and Again.


Alina (Elena) Milan died at the Ichilov Hospital in Tel-Aviv, having been transferred there from Moscow for an urgent liver transplant. Alina died without receiving medical treatment, for it transpired that she had been refused Israeli citizenship, herself having refused to renounce her Christian faith. Alina Milan (Elena by baptism) died on the 14th of March, 2011 [in Israel]. Alina was a fifth year student at Moscow State University's Law School. This event might have passed unnoticed had it not been for certain details.

Alina Milan was 23 years old. Three years ago she was diagnosed with alveolar hydatid liver disease: the sprouting of parasites in the hepatic vein and all the veins of the liver (she required an immediate liver transplant, which in Russia is not performed).

In October of last year, with the help of charitable funding, Alina was admitted to the Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center in Israel. Before her departure, doctors informed Alina's mother that Alina had at best two weeks left to live...

While Alina had been preparing for her departure to Israel, her mother and she were faced with a very serious decision. They were given the opportunity to become Israeli citizens, in which case the medical treatment would be free of charge. To gain citizenship it was simply necessary to fill out an application form, by where in one blank it asked for ‘religious confession.’ According to state laws it is only possible for Jews and atheists to gain Israeli citizenship. Alina refused point-blank to fill out the application form. ‘I will not take off my Cross, I will not deny Christ, it's not worth it.’

Despite the strong support of of Alina's friends and fellow students of the Moscow State University Law School, the necessary sum for the transplant was not met in time (the transplant costs around USD $300,000).

Now we can only pray for her, however, a person who has abandoned life rather than abandoning the faith, is more likely to intercede on behalf of us, sinners, before the Lord. 14 марта 2011 года умерла Алина Милан (в крещении Елена), студентка 5 курса юридического факультета МГУ. Это событие могло бы остаться незамеченным, если бы не некоторые подробности.

Алине Милан было 23 года. 3 месяца назад ей поставили диагноз – альвеококкоз печени: прорастание альвеококка нижней полой вены и всех печеночных вен (необходима срочная трансплантация печени, что в России не практикуется).

В октябре прошлого года на благотворительных началах Алину отправили в медицинский центр «Сураски» в Тель-Авиве, Израиль. Перед отъездом врачи предупредили маму Алины, что дочке осталось жить не больше двух недель в лучшем случае...

Когда Алину готовили к перелету в Израиль перед ней и мамой был поставлен серьезный выбор. У них была возможность получить израильское гражданство и тогда медицинскую помощь им оказали бы бесплатно. Для этого нужно просто заполнить анкету, в одном из пунктов которой значилась графа «вероисповедание». По законам страны стать гражданином Израиля может только иудей и атеист. Алина наотрез отказалась заполнять анкету. «Я не сниму крест и не буду отрекаться, оно того не стоит».

Несмотря на то, что большую поддержку оказали друзья и многие студенты юридического факультета, необходимую помощь для трансплантации печени в виду огромных сумм (порядка 300 тыс. долларов США), к сожалению, вовремя собрать не удалось».

Теперь можно только молиться за нее, хотя человек, который отказался ради веры от жизни, скорей сам может ходатайствовать перед Господом за наши грехи.

3 comments:

  1. Alina must be commended for upholding Christianity, even though doing so resulted in the loss of her life.

    It's sad that the operation she needed was not performed in a Christian nation.

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  2. Anonymous30/3/11 07:40

    I think Alina is a martyr and that she is in Heaven. In a way, it is tragic that the world has unecessarily lost such a promising young life; in another way, this is real Christianity: confessing Jesus Christ. Thank you for letting her story be known.

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  3. Aunt Melanie, I believe the world has not "lost such a promising young life", but that life got realized and complete and we (the world) got that new saint to pray for us.

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