March 22 / March 9
1. The Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebaste
All of them were soldiers in the Roman army and steadfastly believed in the Lord Jesus. When the persecution of Christians began during the reign of Licinius, they were brought to trial before the commander. When he threatened to strip them of their honors as soldiers, one of them, St. Candidus, responded: “Take away from us not only the honor of being soldiers but also our bodies, for nothing is more dear or honorable to us than Christ our God.” After that, the commander ordered his servants to stone the holy martyrs. While the servants were hurling stones at the Chris- tians, the stones turned and fell back on the servants, forcefully striking them. One of the stones struck the commander’s face and knocked out his teeth. The torturers, angry as wild beasts, bound all of the holy martyrs and threw them into a lake. They then stationed a guard around the lake to prevent any of them from escaping. There was a terrible frost, and the lake froze around the bodies of the martyrs. To increase their pain and suffering, and to persuade even one of them to deny Christ and acknowledge the idols of Rome, the torturers heated and illumined a bath by the side of the lake in sight of the frozen martyrs. Indeed, one of them was persuaded. He came out of the water and entered the bath. And behold, from heaven there appeared an extraordinary light, which warmed the water in the lake and the bodies of the martyrs. With that light, thirty-nine wreaths descended from heaven over their heads. Upon seeing this, a guard on the shore removed all his clothes, confessed the name of the Lord Jesus, and entered the lake so that he could become worthy of the fortieth wreath in place of the betrayer. Indeed, the last wreath descended upon him. The next day the entire town was astonished when they saw that the martyrs were still alive. Then the wicked judges ordered that the lower part of their legs be broken and their bodies were thrown into the water so that the Chris- tians could not recover them. On the third day, the martyrs appeared to Peter, the local bishop, and summoned him to gather their relics and remove them from the water. The bishop with his clergy went out in the dark of night and beheld the relics of the martyrs shining brightly in the water.
Every bone that was separated from their bodies floated to the top and glowed like a candle. Bishop Peter gathered and honorably buried them. The souls of these martyrs went to the Lord Jesus, Who suffered for all of us and resurrected with glory. They suffered honorably and were crowned with un- fading glory in the year 320. The Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebaste: Cyrion (or Quirio), Candidus, Domnus, Hesychi- us, Heraclius, Smaragdus, Eunoicus, Valens, Vivianus, Claudius, Priscus, Theodulus, Eutychius, John, Xanthias, Helianus, Sisinius, Angus, Aetius, Flavius, Acacius, Ecdicius, Lysimachus, Alexander, Elias, Gorgonius, Theophilus, Dometian, Gaius, Leontius, Athanasius, Cyril, Sacerdon, Nicholas, Valerius, Philoctimon, Severian, Chudion, Aglaius, and Meliton (320).
2. The Venerable Philoromus the Confessor, of Galatia (4th c.)
He lived and mortified himself in Galatia in the fourth century. It is said about him that he was so perfected in all the virtues that he resembled an angel rather than a man. He was especially glorified because of his patience. He was persecuted by Emperor Julian the Apostate and suffered much for Christ. After the death of Julian the wicked persecutor of Christ, St. Philoromus lived peacefully, benefitting many. He reposed in his eightieth year.
3. Saint Caesarius, brother of St. Gregory the Theologian (369)
St. Caesarius (†369), the brother of Gregory the Theologian, was also a theological writer. Among other things, he attempted to answer the question: How long a time did Adam and Eve spend in Paradise before their expulsion? Some have determined the time to be six hours; others, twenty- four hours; and still others, three days. St. Caesarius was of the mind that the length of time was forty days. “Because,” he says, “our Lord fasted forty days in the wilderness and during that time He was tempted by the devil. Since the old Adam could not resist the temptation of the devil in the abundance of Paradise, the new Adam resisted the devil valiantly in the hungry and thirsty wilderness.”
- Martyr Urpasianus of Nicomedia (295).
- Pacianus, bishop of Barcelona (390).
- Bosa, bishop of York (705).
- Vitalis of Castronovo (994).
- Translation to Vladimir (1230) of the relics of Martyr Abraham of the Bulgars on the Volga (1229).
- Tarasius the Wonderworker, of Lycaonia.
- Jonah, archbishop of Novgorod (1470).
- New Martyrs (two priests and forty students) of Momisici (Montenegro) (1688).
- Theodosius Levitsky, priest, of Balta (Odessa) (1845).
- Dimitra, nun and foundress of the Vvedensk Convent in Kiev (1878).
- New Hieromartyrs Mitrophan Buchnoff, archpriest, of Voronezh (1931), and Ioasaph (Shakhov), abbot, of Popovka (Moscow) (1938).
- “Albazin” Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos (“The Word Was Made Flesh”).
HYMN OF PRAISE
The Holy Forty Martyrs
Martyrs in the lake, shackled by frost,
Strongly adhering to the Holy Faith, illumined by hope,
Cried out to their beloved God:
“Thou, Who didst astonish the world
By Thine awesome sacrifice and Resurrection—Oh, do Thou enliven us!
The firmament of heaven and all created things glorify Thee;
Behold, the abyss, fire, hail, snow, ice and heat glorify Thee!
Thou didst help the great Moses, Thy servant,
And Joshua Son of Nun, and after that Elisha,
By commanding nature to calm and divide the waters.
Now help Thy faithful as Thou hast until now.
Do not allow the frost to be stronger than man,
That we, Forty Martyrs, not become the subject of scorn.
Oh, Thou canst, if Thou willest, for Thou rulest over all;
Thou, when Thou wantest, canst change ice into heat and heat into ice.
For Thy name, the frost consumes us as an angry beast—
Oh, help us that the name of the Almighty may be praised!”
Martyrs in the lake, shackled by frost,
Were warmed from heaven by God’s light.
Gloriously they fell and remained Forty Martyrs
To the fear, horror and shame of the darkened unbelievers.
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