October: Day 10: Holy Martyrs Eulampios and Eulampia

October: Day 10:
Holy Martyrs Eulampios and Eulampia
 
(The High Dignity of the Human Soul)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Holy Martyrs Eulampios and Eulampia, illustrious Nicomedians, whose memory is celebrated today, were brother and sister. They lived in the city of Nicomedia, during the reign of the Emperor Maximian, in the 4th century. When a decree on the persecution of Christians was posted on the city gates, Eulampios began to bitterly denounce the emperor, who was arming himself not against the enemies of the fatherland, but against innocent and useful subjects. He was seized and brought to trial. The judge, seeing Eulampios’ youth, began to persuade him with flattery and promises of honors to renounce Christ. Then, meeting with a refusal, he ordered his torture. They tortured him so much that his whole body seemed to be one continuous wound, and after this they laid him on a bed heated with fire. But the Lord preserved the Saint: he rose from this bed completely healthy. Hearing of her brother's torment, Eulampia ran to the place of torture and said loudly to him: "Why did you not inform me, so that I could endure torture with you from the very beginning? Were we not brought up together and taught to believe in one God?" They began to beat the Saint on the face so that it was completely disfigured. Saint Eulampios strengthened his sister with the words of Christ: "Do not be afraid, sister, of those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul." Finally, they threw them both into a hot furnace, but the flames cooled, and Eulampia was beheaded with a sword, while Eulampios died before being beheaded. Seeing the miracles during the torture of Saints Eulampios and Eulampia, many believed in Christ. All of them, up to 200 people, were beheaded.

II. We have seen, brethren, that the Holy Martyr Eulampios, strengthening the courage of his holy sister, quoted the words of the Savior: "Do not be afraid, sister, of those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul." Therefore, the soul is such a spiritual being that its life does not cease with the death of the body. It is so precious that for its salvation from eternal death, if necessary, one must joyfully sacrifice one's earthly life, so as not to be deprived of eternal blessed life with Jesus Christ in heaven. All this prompts us to converse with you, my beloved brethren, "about the high dignity of the human soul," for which we will take as our guide Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk, who was an inimitable and beautiful meditator on the human soul.

a) Discussing the high dignity of the human soul, Saint Tikhon writes:

“The human soul, according to the description of Saint Makarios of Egypt, is a certain creature of God, rational, beautiful, great, wondrous and excellent, the likeness and image of God.”

1) “For the sake of man, God created all heaven and earth with their fulfillment and adornment ... for all things were created by God before man in order that there might be a place for man to live and something to be content with, and that there might be someone to serve man, who was to be created as a master... But if everything was created for the sake of man, then man is the best and noblest of all: more than heaven, the sun, the moon, the stars, the earth, their fulfillment and adornment. All this is attributed to man for the sake of his rational, noble and beautiful soul.”

2) "The beauty of the human soul is also known from the human body, in which the soul, as in its own house, dwells. Look, everyone, at a young man who is gifted with beauty of face and other natural gifts: how beautiful is he? What animal can compare with him? If the body is so beautiful and perfect - the house and dwelling of the soul, how much more beautiful is the soul that dwells in it"?

3) "The beauty and dignity of the human soul is especially recognized from the fact that God our Creator has imprinted His Divine image on it (Gen. 1:27). O how wondrous and magnificent the beauty and dignity of the soul! The human soul is honored and adorned with the image of God! All created things are wondrous, and are evidence of the omnipotence and wisdom of God; but man has the image and likeness of his Creator in his soul! In the creation of all other things, the omnipotence and wisdom of God was revealed; but in the human soul, moreover, the likeness and image of God was written! Consider what beauty and splendor the uncreated nature has - God: then you will somewhat recognize the beauty and goodness of the nature created by Him, created in His image. God is an infinite beauty, which the holy angels from the beginning cannot be satisfied with and praise. And God's chosen ones in and above all eternal blessedness consists in the fact that this infinite goodness, face to face, endlessly and insatiably, will be seen and enjoyed... If you understand the beauty and infinite splendor of the majesty of God, then you will know how great and wondrous is the beauty and splendor of the human soul."

4) "The Son of God, not any of the creatures – God and Creator Himself, the Word of the Father, the Heavenly King took upon Himself the great embassy, appeared on earth for the sake of the human soul – to seek it and save it; and for thirty-three years He lived on earth as one of men, and as a servant, as one of the poor and needy He toiled, suffered, cried, hungered, thirsted, endured dishonor and blasphemy – for the sake of our souls. He endured terrible torment; the only righteous and holy one. He died on the tree of the cross. The Lover of Mankind accomplished all this for the salvation of our souls."

b) Despite such a high dignity of his soul, adorned with the image of God, man very often does not value it and does not care about it. This amazing neglect of his soul is described by Saint John Chrysostom:

“Who can sufficiently mourn the mad and strange behavior of people? When their bodies are sick, they call doctors, follow their most cruel prescriptions, take the most disgusting medicines, and submit to the most intolerable methods of treatment. They do the same when one of their servants is sick, and if the servant refuses to take the medicine, they force him to do so. But when their souls are sick, they do not even think of consulting a doctor; they do not want to take the most pleasant of the most pleasant medicines, that is, the commandments of God and the mysteries of Christ. They treat their immortal souls incomparably worse than their mortal bodies, than even the least of their servants.”

III. May the Lord help us to take greater care of our precious soul, adorned with the image and likeness of God, than we have done up to now, often turning all our cares only to the body, which is only one dwelling place of the soul.

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.