May 31 / April 18

The Holy Apostle Hermas of the Seventy

Hermas was one of the Seventy Apostles. He is mentioned in the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans (Romans 16:14). Hermas was a Greek by birth but lived in Rome for a long time. He was a bishop in Philipopoulis and ended his life as a martyr. He compiled a very instructive book called The Shepherd according to revelations from an angel of God. Hermas was a wealthy man, but, because of his sins and the sins of his sons, he fell into extreme poverty. Once while in prayer, a man appeared to him in white raiment with a staff in his hand and told him that he was an angel of repentance, who had been sent to be with him until the end of his life. The angel gave him twelve commandments: 1. Believe in God; 2. Live in simplicity and innocence; do not speak evil; give alms to all who beg; 3. Love truth and avoid falsehood; 4. Preserve chastity in your thoughts; 5. Learn patience and generosity; 6. Know that a good and an evil spirit attend every man; 7. Fear God and fear not the devil; 8. Perform every good act, and refrain from every evil deed; 9. Pray to God from the depth
of your soul with faith that your prayer will be fulfilled; 10. Guard against melancholy, the sister of doubt and anger; 11. Test true and false prophecies; 12. Guard against every evil desire.

The Holy Martyr Hermias, at Comana (160)

Hermias served as an imperial soldier until old age, at which time he suffered for Christ the King. Since the evil judge tried in vain to dissuade him from following the Christian Faith and failed to convince him to offer sacrifices to the idols, he gave orders that Hermias’s teeth be knocked out with a stone and the skin peeled from his face with a knife. After that they
threw him into a fiery furnace, but the grace of God saved him, and he stood up. Then, by order of the judge, he drank a bitter poison that was given to him by a magician, but the poison did him no harm. Witnessing this, the magician was so amazed that he openly confessed Christ, for which he was immediately beheaded. Afterward, they gouged out both of
Holy Martyr Hermias (by Stamatis Skliris) Hermias’s eyes, but he did not grieve. Instead he cried out to the judge:
“Take for yourself these bodily eyes that gaze upon the vanity of the world. I have eyes in the heart, by which I clearly see the light of truth.” He was then hung upside down by the feet, and those who did this to him were blinded and staggered around him. St. Hermias beckoned them to come to him, laid his hands on them and restored their sight by prayer to the Lord. Witnessing all of this, the judge became as enraged as a lion, drew a knife and severed the head of this godly man. Christians secretly removed the body of Hermias and buried it honorably. His relics gave healing to all the sick and afflicted. St. Hermias suffered in the year 166, during the reign of Emperor Antoninus.

The Holy Martyr Philosophus, at Alexandria (252)

This martyr of Christ was born in the vicinity of Alexandria. During the time of the persecution of Christians, St. Philosophus did not want to deny Christ the Lord before the pagan princes and judges. For this, the pagans subjected him to violent tortures. After he was tortured in various ways, they finally placed him on a soft bed, tied his hands and feet, and had a harlot come to him to lure him into sin. When St. Philosophus sensed that the sin of passion was being aroused in him from the touch of the woman’s hand, he put his tongue between his teeth, bit if off and spit it in the face of the depraved one. Because of this, the passion subsided in him, and the harlot was so horrified that she immediately fled from him. Afterward he was beheaded, in about the year 252, while still young in years, and took up his habitation in the Kingdom of eternal youth.*)

. Martyr Marus the Magician (160), converted on witnessing the martyrdom of St. Hermias.
. St. Eustathius, patriarch of Constantinople (1025).
. First translation of the relics(1591) of Hieromartyr Philip, metropolitan of Moscow and all Russia (1569), to Solovki.
. St. Philotheus, metropolitan of Tobolsk (1727).
. New Hieromartyr Archpriest Philosophus Ornatsky, with his sons Martyrs Nicholas and Boris, in St. Petersburg (1918).
. New Hieromartyrs Hierotheus (Afonin), bishop of Nikolsk (1928), and Hieroschemamonk Seraphim (Nikolsky) (1923).
. Finding of the relics(1960) of New Martyr Nicholas the Deacon, of Mytilene (1463).
*) In the Greek Prologue, Philosophus is commemorated on May 1

HYMN OF PRAISE

Saint Hermias and the Magician

The old and evil magician, a poisoner and liar;
In everything very small, but great in fear—
He gave bitter poison to the holy Hermias:
From this poison, even the serpents would hide!
Hermias drank the poison: death did not claim him,
And the old magician saw this and trembled all over.
“Oh, what a wonderful miracle!” he cried out.
“The poison has no power over the soldier of God!
Let the dark days of my life be hidden,
Let the years of my shameful life be erased!
I dedicated my entire life to foolish deceits,
My whole life to the service of these senseless idols.
And just today, in great fear I see
That the God of Hermias is the One True God.
Christ crucified, the Lord of the heavens—
Only His miracles are true.
From now on, I am Christ’s: O Christ, forgive me.
As Thy least servant, do Thou, O Good One, receive me.
Forgive me my all-too-many sins, forgive me.
For Thee I will sacrifice body and lifeless bones!”
Bitterly repentant, the old man uttered these words,
And at once he was cleansed of falsehood and fears.
He openly numbered himself among the Christians.
The sword flashed over him and baptized him in his blood.

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