April: Day 11: Holy Hieromartyr Antipas, Bishop of Pergamum

April: Day 11:
Holy Hieromartyr Antipas, Bishop of Pergamum
 
(Without Labors and Exploits One Cannot Inherit the Kingdom of God)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. In the Apocalypse of the Holy Apostle John the Theologian it is said that the Lord in a revelation to Saint John commanded him to write to seven angels, i.e. to the bishops of the seven Churches of Asia Minor. At the same time, mention is made of Saint Antipas, who was Bishop of the Church in Pergamum, whose memory is celebrated today:

“And to the Angel of the Church in Pergamum write... I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells” (Revelation 2:13).

From these words, addressed to Antipas' successor in Pergamum, it is evident that the Holy Hieromartyr Antipas was put to death for his faith. According to the author of his life, he was among the Pergamuites as "a light in the midst of darkness, a rose in the midst of thorns, gold in the midst of sludge, or rather a grove in the midst of a fiery furnace." Consecrated bishop by John the Theologian at a time when paganism still reigned everywhere, Antipas the bishop had to wage a stubborn and difficult struggle against the prevailing belief. Finally, during the persecution raised by Domitian, he was taken as a disseminator of the persecuted new teaching and presented to the governor of the city.

“Are you Antipas” asked the governor, "who not only does not obey the royal decrees, but also teaches others not to honor them? The priests report that the pagan temples are emptying, they complain about the scarcity of sacrifices, they say that the angry gods have ceased to patronize the city, in which the honor due to them is not rendered.

"Those gods who demand offerings from people are powerless," Antipas objected, "and therefore they are false gods; to believe in them is a delusion. The truth is to believe in the Almighty God, Christ, who came down from heaven to save the human race. It would be madness if, approaching death, I were to renounce the saving truth that my mind, enlightened by the study of the Divine Scriptures, has grasped. Recognize this truth yourself, if you do not want to perish."

The pagans, incited to rage by the words of the Saint, seized him, dragged him into the temple of the goddess Artemis and there, heating a copper bull, threw the confessor of the faith into it. Crossing himself, the Holy Martyr gave up his soul to God.

II. Beloved brethren and children in Christ! We have seen what a painful death the Holy Hieromartyr Antipas was given over to! But this martyr's death only completed the series of his sufferings for Christ, sometimes in the struggle with his flesh, sometimes in the struggle with the world and especially with the impious pagans, among whom he lived as a light in the midst of darkness, as a rose among thorns, sometimes in the struggle with the enemy of our salvation - the devil.

The path of his life was difficult, a cruel struggle; he overcame many obstacles to reach the Kingdom of God.

But without labors and exploits it is impossible to attain the Kingdom of God. The word of God teaches this, all the saints testify to this, including the blessed Holy Hieromartyr Antipas.

a) The word of God tells us that "the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force," i.e. the Kingdom of Heaven, as the greatest good, requires from man the constant forcing of himself to seek it, a constant internal struggle against sin, a constant exercise in everything pleasing to God, saving, and therefore only those who resist sin and actively strive for holiness will be worthy of eternal blessedness.

From what has been said it is obvious that our purpose in this world is not to enjoy earthly life, not to have fun, but to fight, in which our main enemies are: our sin-loving flesh, the wicked, seductive world, and the spirit of evil - the devil, whose fury against us is so indescribable that it is impossible to even depict. The word of God likens him to "a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." And we, who are vain, living carefree, to whom are we similar? We are similar to people who imagine that they are strolling along an endless plain, while they are standing on the edge of a rapid, but do not see it and do not want to see it. Our spiritual blindness hides from us the danger of our situation: we think only about satisfying our vain desires, about the pleasures of this life and other similar things, and the thought of the misfortune hanging over our heads, of our sins, of God's judgment and of the endless afterlife that lies before us, is not only far from us, but many of us do not even have such thoughts. Taking advantage of our carelessness, the cunning enemy has so entangled us in his nets that, as they say, every step is a sin for us: we act cunningly and think cunningly, everything in us is permeated with sin, everything is enslaved to gross sensuality, and what is worst of all is that we are not aware of our real situation.

Let us rise up courageously, call upon the Almighty for help, break the devil's nets, shame him, and make our guardian angel happy. Let us consider attentively that for the sake of our salvation the Lord came down from heaven, endured terrible sufferings, ending with a shameful death on the cross, but for the sake of our own salvation we do not want to lift a finger. What darkness, what destructive carelessness! We hope to be saved without the slightest effort. But our hope is vain, for "through many tribulations we must enter the Kingdom of Heaven."

b) All the saints testify that without labor it is impossible to be saved. Let us read the lives of the saints who pleased God, and what do we see in them? Some laborers spent their entire lives in the deserts in strict fasting, repentance and day and night tearful prayers, depriving themselves even of the necessary; others dedicated themselves to apostolic service, the salvation of their neighbors, constantly cared not for their own good, but for the good of their neighbors, endured countless sorrows and persecutions, and in fact fulfilled the commandment of God: "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

Finally, we see the countless faces of martyrs who sealed their love for God with their blood; and even the Lord's closest disciples, did they not all die a martyr's death? Some were crucified, some were beheaded, some were put to death by some other death! So before our eyes is a terrible picture of suffering! The Savior of the world suffered, and all His close ones suffered, all who loved Him, which is why He said: "Whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me." How is it we want to enjoy this life, and, spending our days in joy, at the same time save our souls? - Obviously, our hope is vain, our expectation is vain.

III. If we truly want to be saved, then we must, with God's help, resist the sin that reigns within us, be on guard, as happens in wartime, in fear of a sudden attack by the enemy; vigilantly watch for the thoughts of malice, pride, love of money, lust and many others that the enemy inspires; drive them away from ourselves with anger as they are our fierce enemies, and force ourselves unceasingly to love, humility, mercy, abstinence, repentance and other soul-saving virtues, carefully watching our bad habits.

In all our good undertakings and intentions we must call upon the Lord for help, knowing and being aware that without Him we cannot do anything good, or even think of it: He, our Savior, is only waiting for us, so that we, like the prodigal son mentioned in the Gospel, would recognize our plight and turn to Him, our Heavenly Father, with heartfelt repentance: “I have sinned, Father, against heaven and before You, and am no longer worthy to be called Your son, therefore make me one of Your hired servants.” 

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