September: Day 12: Teaching 1:
Holy Hieromartyr Autonomos
(That There Is a Great Similarity Between Sleep and Death)
By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko
(That There Is a Great Similarity Between Sleep and Death)
By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko
I. The Holy Bishop Autonomos, whose memory is celebrated today, having retired to Bithynia during the persecution under Diocletian, zealously preached the faith of Christ and for this was put to death by the pagans (in 313) while he was performing the Divine Liturgy. After 200 years his relics were found incorrupt. The writer of the life of Saint Autonomos, who lived in the 6th century, says: “Peeping sometimes with my eyes into the tomb of the martyr, I myself saw his relics incorrupt, I saw his holy relics remaining undefeated by the power of death, which, boasting to destroy the entire structure of a living being in three days, for 200 years now has not been able to destroy even a hair of this glorious man: his hair is thick, his face is whole, well covered with skin, his mustache is not damaged, his eyes are open, etc.” The verse prologue, written six centuries later, speaks of the incorrupt state of the relics of Saint Autonomos "to this day."
II. When describing the incorruptibility of the holy relics of the Holy Hieromartyr Autonomos, involuntarily there comes to mind the comparison of death with sleep. Centuries, millennia pass, and the holy saints of God in their incorruptible relics sleep as if alive until the time of their awakening on the day of God's general judgment.
However, the death of every person can be called sleep, even though his body has given itself over to decay. This is not only our thought, this was suggested by Jesus Christ Himself when He said that Lazarus and the daughter of Jairus did not die, but only fell asleep (John 11:14; Mark 5:35-39); our Church believes this, calling the dead the reposed.
But why is death called sleep? Because there is indeed a great similarity between sleep and death.
a) Sleep is natural and inevitable for all people. So death is inevitable for everyone. No matter how you preserve your life, no matter how you avoid everything harmful to health, you can prolong your life through this, but you will not escape death, because God's decree must be fulfilled for every descendant of earthy Adam: "Dust you are, and to dust you will return" (Gen. 3:19).
b) Sleep, squeezing our eyes, closing our hearing and bringing the whole body into insensibility and a certain separation from the soul, does not stop us from breathing, does not deprive us of life. We live in sleep as in a waking state: for even then our soul thinks, feels, desires and even receives impressions from the external world. This is proven by our dreams and the revelations that God repeatedly gave to people during their sleep (Gen. 20:3, 28, 12-13; Matt. 2:13, 27, 19). So, too, death, stopping the action of our bodily organs, destroying the union of the body with the soul and disintegrating the former into its component parts, does not deprive us of the "breath of life" (Gen. 2:7), does not destroy our soul, which even after our death continues to live, only in another, spiritual world. Being in the body, it is imprisoned in it, as in a prison; and therefore, like a prisoner, freed from prison, it does not die, but as if revives and joyfully hurries to his relatives and friends: so the soul, having detached itself from the body, rushes into its own world, soars into the kingdom of spirits, for a new life in the face of the immortals.
c) Sleep, which is natural for everyone, is not the same for everyone. He who has been awake all day, worked hard, eaten and drunk moderately; who is healthy in body, calm in spirit, at peace in his conscience: he usually enjoys a light and pleasant sleep. On the contrary, he who has spent the day in idleness and drowsiness, or has burdened himself with excessive food and drink; who is tormented by ailments, agitated by passions and tormented by conscience: he very often suffers at night from insomnia, and if he falls asleep, his sleep is heavy and restless. So, too, death is not the same for everyone. He who has worked vigilantly throughout his life in fulfilling the commandments of God and his duties; who has spent it in strict abstinence from the sweet things of this world, has not corrupted himself with sins and has not disturbed his conscience with untruths, he will have a peaceful, blessed end. Such a man, descending into the grave, can joyfully say with the Apostle: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Therefore there is reserved for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will reward me in that day" (2 Tim. 4:7-8). He will also see the heavenly Father Himself, mercifully calling out to him: "Good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord" (Matt. 25:21). Therefore, the holy Seer says: "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord" (Rev. 14:13). Such is not the state of dying sinners. When death begins to close their physical eyes, then their spiritual eyes will be opened, which until now were darkened by the darkness of sin - and what will be revealed to them then? In the past they will see their pernicious errors, vile deceptions and grave untruths, worthy of damnation and heavenly punishment. In the future they will see all the horrors of the torments that await them, the terrible Judge will appear and the terrible sentence will be pronounced, condemning them to eternal suffering in the fiery Gehenna. Oh, what sorrow and what horror must then embrace their souls! "The death of sinners is evil!" (Psalm 33:21).
d) After sleep, a person awakens and rises from his bed with a strengthened body, for new activity. In the same way, after death, we will all awaken and rise from our graves with a new - incorruptible body, for a new endless life. God Himself assures us of this in His revealed word. "The hour is coming," says the Savior, "when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and having heard, they will live" (John 5:25). For everyone, then will come an endless life, in which the righteous will be eternally blessed, and sinners will suffer eternally, without any consolation, without any hope of deliverance from fierce torments (Matt. 25:46).
III. Knowing this similarity between sleep and death and reflecting on it, we can draw the following edification for ourselves:
a) Death, like sleep, is inevitable for us: therefore, every time we go to sleep, let us remember that one day death will close our eyes just as sleep closes them, and perhaps the very bed on which we lie down to rest will become our deathbed. And remembering and reflecting on this, let us constantly prepare for death and take care that our life after it will be blessed.
b) Death, like sleep, casting us into insensibility, does not end our life: therefore, let us not be afraid when the Lord sends it to us, nor let us grieve inconsolably when it befalls our friends and relatives. On the contrary, let us look upon it calmly and with good will, as upon a wise and good disposition of God, necessary for the repose of earthly workers and their resettlement to another, better life.
c) Death, like sleep, is not the same for all people, depending on how they spent their time before it: for the righteous it is blessed, for sinners it is evil. So, let us now lead a life pleasing to God, let us work hard in doing every good thing, so that we can depart into eternity with a clear conscience and receive a heavenly reward for our earthly labors. "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what he has done with the body, whether good or evil" (2 Cor. 5:10).
Reflection on death and its similarity to sleep can lead us to such saving thoughts and conclusions!
Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
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