In Summer 1922, in the grand Symphony Hall of Petrograd (St. Petersburg), a mock trail was held. 86 Christian Orthodox clergymen and laymen were accused of "resistance to the expropriation of Church valuables"; four of them, including Metropolitan Benjamin of Petrograd, were sentenced to death and killed on August 13. Their grave site has never been found.

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One hundred years later, on August 13, when the Orthodox Church observes the memory of the New Martyr Metropolitan Benjamin and those who suffered with him, in the same Symphony Hall of St. Petersburg, a solemn memorial concert was held. Choral oration, His Way to Golgotha, was performed, based upon the last letter Metropolitan Benjamin sent from his death roll prison cell to a friend.

Patriarch Kirill unveiled the memorial plaque dedicated to the New Martyrs who faced their death sentence in this hall and addressed the audience:

 When in 1922 the state began a campaign to confiscate church treasures, Metropolitan Benjamin readily consented to hand over those valuables that had no liturgical use. This, however, was of no avail: they were not concerned with material things. I am quoting Lenin's secret letter: "The more reactionary clergy we execute in this case, the better". The expropriation of valuables was the pretext for wiping off the clergy; the Bolsheviks (who, by the way, had studied in parochial schools and knew much about the Church) understood well what the Holy Chalice, the Eucharistic vessels, the revered icons meant to the faithful. They clearly understood that Christians would never be indifferent to the sacrilege. And that is why they were ready to shoot people on this occasion  - "the more the better".

Lenin knew what he was saying: he meant to make sure that the "Church remembers the lesson". And indeed, the Church does remember her Saints, their sacrifice and their fidelity, standing ready to follow them, just like they have followed Christ.