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March: Day 4: Teaching 2:
Holy Martyrs Paul and Juliana
(Every Martyr Is At The Same Time A Preacher)
By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko
Holy Martyrs Paul and Juliana
(Every Martyr Is At The Same Time A Preacher)
By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko
I. The Emperor Aurelian, once traveling around his kingdom, arrived in Ptolemais. As he was entering the city, a young Christian named Paul crossed himself and said to his sister, who was standing near him: "Get ready, sister; there will be a great temptation for the Christians." The emperor saw that the young man crossed himself and ordered him to be taken into custody, because Christians were then being severely persecuted.
When, after futile attempts to persuade him to abandon the Christian faith, Saint Paul was subjected to torture, a young girl ran into the court and began to reproach the emperor for his cruelty. This was Juliana, Paul's sister.
"Why do you torment my brother?" she exclaimed. "Has he ever in his life insulted the imperial majesty, or offended any of his fellow citizens? The whole people will vouch for his virtue. Sovereign, spare him!"
When Aurelian learned who the girl was, he began to persuade her to renounce the Christian faith; but kind words and flattering promises did not produce the desired effect. The girl repeated only that she was a Christian and was ready to die for her faith. Then Aurelian ordered her to be tortured too.
Paul and Juliana were subjected to the most terrible tortures: they were torn with iron claws, thrown into cauldrons of boiling pitch; but the tortures did not overcome their steadfastness and revealed only to those around them the power of the true God, Who strengthened His faithful servants and eased their suffering. Stretched out on hot iron grates, the Holy Martyrs loudly glorified God.
Two of the torturers, seeing the unwavering steadfastness of the Christians, understood that they had been given help from above, and recognized the greatness of God. "There is no other God except the One who helps Paul and Juliana!" they cried. The emperor ordered their execution. "Do not be afraid," the Holy Martyrs told them, "you will not die forever, but will receive eternal life." They believed with all their hearts and with prayer gave up their souls to God. Their names were Kodratos and Akakios. The Martyrs were taken to prison, where the Lord strengthened them with a miraculous appearance and healed their wounds.
The next day they were again brought to the emperor, who again began to persuade them to renounce Christ. Seeing that his words were useless, he subjected them to new tortures. But now, as the day before, the Lord helped them and eased their suffering.
Seeing that the tortures did not overcome the steadfastness of Christians, and that the number of believers, on the contrary, was increasing (for the calmness of the sufferers and the joy with which they went to torture clearly proved to the pagans the omnipotence of the Lord helping His servants), Emperor Aurelian condemned Paul and Juliana to death. The Holy Martyrs joyfully went to their death, singing in a loud voice: "You have saved us, O Lord, from those who trouble us, and you have put to shame those who hate us." When they were brought outside the city, to the place of execution, Saint Paul begged the executioner to carry out the death sentence on Juliana first, fearing that she would be frightened, seeing his execution. She crossed herself and joyfully gave up her soul to God. After her, Paul was also beheaded with the sword. Aurelian ordered their bodies to be thrown to the wild beasts, but the beasts did not touch them. And the Christians, taking their bodies at night, buried them with honor. This was in the 3rd century.
II. What edification, brethren, shall we draw from this account of the sufferings of the Holy Martyrs Paul and Juliana? The Holy Martyrs themselves will now be preachers.
Thus I call the Holy Martyrs who are celebrated; and, surely, no one will deprive them of this sacred title. For if, according to the word of Scripture, he who proclaims the truth by word and mouth is no small thing; still more he who preaches by his deeds and life. Then to what height should we place him who, for the truth of the gospel preaching, shed his blood and suffered a martyr's death? Before such preaching, all our words and all our rhetoric are like the weak babbling of a child before the majestic speech of a man and an elder.
a) Was it not such preaching that destroyed the idols and attracted the whole world to Christ? The primitive Christians, persecuted by the Caesars and philosophers, not only had no pulpits, nor temples; the very worship and mysteries were performed rarely, secretly, underground, amidst the midnight silence. But the voice of the gospel preaching thundered incessantly to all ends of the earth: it gave no peace to either the Caesars or the philosophers, drawing each and every one to Christ. Where did it come from? From the dark dungeons filled with Christians, from the red-hot ovens and furnaces into which they were thrown, from the blazing fires and crosses drenched in the blood of martyrs to the truth. A confessor of Christ appears to shame him in the middle of a city or village, and the preaching begins! He is offered forgiveness and freedom, riches and honor, sometimes a bride blooming with beauty, to merely bow to idols, but he lifts up his eyes and, instead of answering, marks himself with the cross! He is subjected to torture, scourged, burned with various fires, his body is torn with pincers, his eyes and lips are deprived. He suffers without a murmur and prays for the very tormentors! He is given over to be torn apart by fierce beasts, or nailed to the cross, or thrown into the sea with a stone on his neck. He meets death with such a bright face, with which few go to the wedding crown. Is it surprising after this that the most rude crowds of people, struck by the greatness of the sufferer's soul, themselves coming to tenderness and a kind of holy rapture, exclaimed: "Great is the Christian God! Holy faith, which gives such courage and contempt for life!" By this preaching, my brethren, the world is conquered, not by weapons, not by eloquence, not by earthly wisdom!
b) What do the holy martyrs preach to us? They preach to love Christ unto death, to fear nothing on earth except God, to disdain all the blessings of the world as if they were clay, to believe in the future life as if it were before our eyes. For what could have disposed them to reject all the flatteries and promises of the judge, to despise all the threats and cruelty of the tormentor, if not a living faith in Christ and the hope of eternal life? What made them endure unbearable torments if not all the enduring and never-failing love for Christ?
c) Do you wish to be even more convinced of how rightly we have said that every martyr is a preacher? Consider what attracted two of the torturers themselves to confess Christ? Not by preaching from the pulpit, but by patience and suffering. Perhaps they had heard the sermons of Christian teachers a hundred times, but remained in the darkness of idolatry, but when they saw the suffering and courage of the confessors, then without a word or a sermon they understood the truth and were moved in soul, disregarding life itself, and in one minute they rose from being pagans to the heights of martyrs.
III. Thus did the example of the holy martyrs once act! It seems that it has lost all its power over us. Their holy deeds, celebrated by the Church, have become for us like those hosts of stars which, in the distance, merge for our eyes into misty-light spots. When a telescope is directed at these spots, they separate into bright stars, and we marvel at their greatness, but at all other times we pay no attention to them, and do not even know of their existence. Thus, when a preacher or some book tells us about the exploits of the martyrs, we are amazed at the greatness of their souls, without thinking at all about taking an example from them for our own actions, illuminating faith in our hearts from their heavenly fire, rushing in the footsteps of their love for God. But without books and a preacher, the deeds of the martyrs, due to our inattention to them, seem not to exist. Even those of us who bear the names of the holy martyrs, often do not know at all who was the one by whose name they are distinguished from the day of birth. Let this not happen to us, brethren!
When, after futile attempts to persuade him to abandon the Christian faith, Saint Paul was subjected to torture, a young girl ran into the court and began to reproach the emperor for his cruelty. This was Juliana, Paul's sister.
"Why do you torment my brother?" she exclaimed. "Has he ever in his life insulted the imperial majesty, or offended any of his fellow citizens? The whole people will vouch for his virtue. Sovereign, spare him!"
When Aurelian learned who the girl was, he began to persuade her to renounce the Christian faith; but kind words and flattering promises did not produce the desired effect. The girl repeated only that she was a Christian and was ready to die for her faith. Then Aurelian ordered her to be tortured too.
Paul and Juliana were subjected to the most terrible tortures: they were torn with iron claws, thrown into cauldrons of boiling pitch; but the tortures did not overcome their steadfastness and revealed only to those around them the power of the true God, Who strengthened His faithful servants and eased their suffering. Stretched out on hot iron grates, the Holy Martyrs loudly glorified God.
Two of the torturers, seeing the unwavering steadfastness of the Christians, understood that they had been given help from above, and recognized the greatness of God. "There is no other God except the One who helps Paul and Juliana!" they cried. The emperor ordered their execution. "Do not be afraid," the Holy Martyrs told them, "you will not die forever, but will receive eternal life." They believed with all their hearts and with prayer gave up their souls to God. Their names were Kodratos and Akakios. The Martyrs were taken to prison, where the Lord strengthened them with a miraculous appearance and healed their wounds.
The next day they were again brought to the emperor, who again began to persuade them to renounce Christ. Seeing that his words were useless, he subjected them to new tortures. But now, as the day before, the Lord helped them and eased their suffering.
Seeing that the tortures did not overcome the steadfastness of Christians, and that the number of believers, on the contrary, was increasing (for the calmness of the sufferers and the joy with which they went to torture clearly proved to the pagans the omnipotence of the Lord helping His servants), Emperor Aurelian condemned Paul and Juliana to death. The Holy Martyrs joyfully went to their death, singing in a loud voice: "You have saved us, O Lord, from those who trouble us, and you have put to shame those who hate us." When they were brought outside the city, to the place of execution, Saint Paul begged the executioner to carry out the death sentence on Juliana first, fearing that she would be frightened, seeing his execution. She crossed herself and joyfully gave up her soul to God. After her, Paul was also beheaded with the sword. Aurelian ordered their bodies to be thrown to the wild beasts, but the beasts did not touch them. And the Christians, taking their bodies at night, buried them with honor. This was in the 3rd century.
II. What edification, brethren, shall we draw from this account of the sufferings of the Holy Martyrs Paul and Juliana? The Holy Martyrs themselves will now be preachers.
Thus I call the Holy Martyrs who are celebrated; and, surely, no one will deprive them of this sacred title. For if, according to the word of Scripture, he who proclaims the truth by word and mouth is no small thing; still more he who preaches by his deeds and life. Then to what height should we place him who, for the truth of the gospel preaching, shed his blood and suffered a martyr's death? Before such preaching, all our words and all our rhetoric are like the weak babbling of a child before the majestic speech of a man and an elder.
a) Was it not such preaching that destroyed the idols and attracted the whole world to Christ? The primitive Christians, persecuted by the Caesars and philosophers, not only had no pulpits, nor temples; the very worship and mysteries were performed rarely, secretly, underground, amidst the midnight silence. But the voice of the gospel preaching thundered incessantly to all ends of the earth: it gave no peace to either the Caesars or the philosophers, drawing each and every one to Christ. Where did it come from? From the dark dungeons filled with Christians, from the red-hot ovens and furnaces into which they were thrown, from the blazing fires and crosses drenched in the blood of martyrs to the truth. A confessor of Christ appears to shame him in the middle of a city or village, and the preaching begins! He is offered forgiveness and freedom, riches and honor, sometimes a bride blooming with beauty, to merely bow to idols, but he lifts up his eyes and, instead of answering, marks himself with the cross! He is subjected to torture, scourged, burned with various fires, his body is torn with pincers, his eyes and lips are deprived. He suffers without a murmur and prays for the very tormentors! He is given over to be torn apart by fierce beasts, or nailed to the cross, or thrown into the sea with a stone on his neck. He meets death with such a bright face, with which few go to the wedding crown. Is it surprising after this that the most rude crowds of people, struck by the greatness of the sufferer's soul, themselves coming to tenderness and a kind of holy rapture, exclaimed: "Great is the Christian God! Holy faith, which gives such courage and contempt for life!" By this preaching, my brethren, the world is conquered, not by weapons, not by eloquence, not by earthly wisdom!
b) What do the holy martyrs preach to us? They preach to love Christ unto death, to fear nothing on earth except God, to disdain all the blessings of the world as if they were clay, to believe in the future life as if it were before our eyes. For what could have disposed them to reject all the flatteries and promises of the judge, to despise all the threats and cruelty of the tormentor, if not a living faith in Christ and the hope of eternal life? What made them endure unbearable torments if not all the enduring and never-failing love for Christ?
c) Do you wish to be even more convinced of how rightly we have said that every martyr is a preacher? Consider what attracted two of the torturers themselves to confess Christ? Not by preaching from the pulpit, but by patience and suffering. Perhaps they had heard the sermons of Christian teachers a hundred times, but remained in the darkness of idolatry, but when they saw the suffering and courage of the confessors, then without a word or a sermon they understood the truth and were moved in soul, disregarding life itself, and in one minute they rose from being pagans to the heights of martyrs.
III. Thus did the example of the holy martyrs once act! It seems that it has lost all its power over us. Their holy deeds, celebrated by the Church, have become for us like those hosts of stars which, in the distance, merge for our eyes into misty-light spots. When a telescope is directed at these spots, they separate into bright stars, and we marvel at their greatness, but at all other times we pay no attention to them, and do not even know of their existence. Thus, when a preacher or some book tells us about the exploits of the martyrs, we are amazed at the greatness of their souls, without thinking at all about taking an example from them for our own actions, illuminating faith in our hearts from their heavenly fire, rushing in the footsteps of their love for God. But without books and a preacher, the deeds of the martyrs, due to our inattention to them, seem not to exist. Even those of us who bear the names of the holy martyrs, often do not know at all who was the one by whose name they are distinguished from the day of birth. Let this not happen to us, brethren!
Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
