December: Day 22: Holy Great Martyr Anastasia the Deliverer from Bonds

December: Day 22:
Holy Great Martyr Anastasia the Deliverer from Bonds*
 
(On Compassion for Those Imprisoned in Prison)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Saint Anastasia "the Deliverer from Bonds," whose memory is celebrated today, is a high example of Christian mercy to those imprisoned. "I was in prison, and you visited Me" - this word deeply penetrated the soul of Saint Anastasia. Cheerful, bright, overjoyed by the joy that she gave to others, she went around the prisons daily and everywhere she was met as an angel of God.

But the grace of this consolation did not last long with her: her husband became indignant with her and, fearing that she would squander all her wealth on prisoners, began to keep her locked up, assigning a guard to her. She reached despair and wrote to her former tutor: "Pray to God for me, for the love of Whom I suffer to the point of exhaustion." The elder answered her: "Do not forget that Christ walking on the waters is able to calm every storm: 'And he arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the waters, and there was a calm' (Luke 8:24). You now stand as if among the waves of the sea, patiently await Christ - He will come to you ... Light is always preceded by darkness; after death, life is promised; the end awaits earthly sorrow, as well as earthly joy. Blessed by God is he who trusts in Him."

Soon Saint Anastasia became a widow and was given the freedom to devote all her wealth and her entire life to the service she loved so much. Now she was no longer limited to the prisons of Rome alone, she went from city to city, from country to country – she delivered food and clothing to prisoners, washed their wounds, bribed prison guards with large sums of money so that they would free sufferers from the iron shackles that chafed their wounds. For these deeds she was given the name “the Deliverer from Bonds.”

How many people her love has brought comfort to, how many people she has given strength to endure to the end!

Working day and night, she completely forgot that she herself could be subjected to persecution. Once, when she came to the prison to the prisoners whom she had served the day before, she did not find them there, since they had all been executed during the night in order to free up space in the prison for many other newly taken Christians. She wept bitterly and asked everyone through her tears: “Where are my fellow prisoners?” Concluding from this that she too was a Christian, they took her and brought her to trial before the governor. They crucified her between four pillars and lit a fire to burn her, but before the flames flared up, she died amidst torture.

II. The example of the Holy Great Martyr Anastasia, nicknamed the Deliverer from Bonds for her readiness to ease the bonds in which the holy martyrs for Christ languished in prison, encourages us, brethren, to show compassion to the unfortunate who are imprisoned in prisons.

a) When visiting prisoners in prison or generally showing them mercy in one form or another, we must know that we are visiting Jesus Christ Himself in prison and showing mercy to Him.

“I was in prison, and you came to Me” (Matthew 25:36).

Who do you think, brethren, says this? Who is it that remembers with such gratitude his benefactors, who took the trouble to come and visit him when he was in prison? This is what the King of glory says, the Lord of heaven and earth, the Master of the living and the dead; this He will say to the blessed of His Father when He comes on the clouds of heaven with great glory to judge the whole world.

"Lord, when did we see You in prison?" - the righteous will say. And the King will answer them and say: "Inasmuch as you have done it to one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it to Me" (Matt. 25:36, 39, 40). Thus, in the person of prisoners, our beneficence to them will be accepted by the Lord Himself, and this is enough for us, so that the duty of serving those imprisoned in prisons will be our most sacred obligation.

b) At all times, Christian feeling has always been expressed, among other things, in lively participation and compassion for prisoners, even if they were deprived of freedom and not for the faith of Christ, and so it has been since ancient times in our fatherland. Beginning with the Christ-loving kings, our ancestors had a pious custom, especially on the eve and on the very days of great feasts, to personally visit prisons, ransom debtors and give alms to prisoners. How touching and deep is this pious custom!

The Russian people have adopted the name of unfortunate for all those imprisoned in chains, and this is quite just. Not to mention the fact that, given the limitations and fallacies of human judgment, many may be subjected to imprisonment in dungeons innocently and therefore are truly worthy of all pity, but even actual criminals, clearly convicted of their crimes, are for the most part unfortunate slaves of their unbridled passions, sometimes irritated by the hard lot of life, or subjected to the temptation to commit a crime and not able to withstand the "hour of trial" against it. Can we deprive them of all compassion? Who can guarantee that we will not encounter a circumstance by virtue of which we may be participants in an involuntary crime, subjecting us by law to deprivation of freedom for some time! And if losing freedom in general is a great misfortune, then each of us must sympathize with the plight of prisoners.

III. So, for the sake of the sacred memory of the Holy Great Martyr Anastasia the Deliverer from Bonds, following the example of our pious ancestors, in these days preceding the great feasts of the Nativity of Christ and the Theophany, let us remember the unfortunate prisoners languishing in prison, and let us try to bring our feasible sacrifice for their benefit, for consolation during the days of the great feasts. This sacrifice is truly pleasing to God, as a matter of high Christian brotherly love and mercy.

Let some bring their feasible monetary and material offerings to those imprisoned; others take care of providing books for reading, the opportunity for those imprisoned to hear or read spiritual edifying books that awaken their dormant conscience and encourage them to turn to God and enter the path of a good life; let others take care of providing those released from prison with the opportunity to find a position in order to earn their living by honest labor; finally, let some of the good Christians direct their feelings of love to caring for unfortunate children whose parents are in prison.

May God, through the prayers of Saint Anastasia the Deliverer from Bonds, perfect everyone for the good and God-pleasing work of helping both materially and spiritually the unfortunate – those languishing in prison.

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

* In the Slavic Churches Saint Anastasia is known as the Uzoreschitelnitsa, which literally means the breaker of fetters or deliverer from bonds. And indeed, any bonds that interfere with a content life can be destroyed by prayer to the Saint. Her whole life was devoted to the release of innocents from prisons and their treatment. And the wives and mothers of prisoners still pray to Saint Anastasia.

It should be noted that in Greek she is known as the Pharmakolytria, which means deliverer from potions, which is related to the fact that her temple was famous in Constantinople for delivering those who became possessed, often through those who used potions such as sorcerers. Another interpretation is that through medicine she delivers those who have physical, mental and spiritual illnesses.