I found this piece on the Noble Patriarch because of the mention he gets in this piece which sent the G/P shivers down my red, white and blue, spine
Of course, his uprightness, courage and firmness were duly appreciated by the enemies of the Church ruling over Russia and for a certain period be was kept in jail awaiting a trial, while the sentence of a death penalty was already announced by the soviet press. But at that time, the soviet government was not strong enough to dictate its orders to other countries, as it does now, so the interference of the USA, where the Holy Patriarch had spent five years as Archbishop of the Russian Orthodox Church, and the famous memorandum of Curson, put an end to the imprisonment of the Patriarch.After many months spent in prison, he was released, and immediately resumed his duties. But release from prison did not end his martyrdom, and did not mean that be was not subjected to close surveillance, most painful restrictions, and continual interrogatories by Tcheka. His relations not only with the outer world, but with his bishops, were complicated to such a degree that often he could not obtain full and true information about some event, although his decisions or instructions on the subject were greatly required. This sometimes led to misunderstand ings which were gladly seized upon by his enemies. The constant pressure of the Tcheka on his mind was a severe added burden to his troubles. One can only wonder at his endurance.