40 Holy Martyrs of Sebaste

40 Holy Martyrs of Sebaste (Commemorated on March 9) In the year 313 A.D., St. Constantine the Great issued an edict granting Christians religious freedom, and officially recognizing Christianity as equal with paganism under the law. But his co-ruler Licinius was a pagan, and he decided to stamp out Christianity in his part of the Empire. As Licinius prepared his army to fight Constantine, he decided to remove Christians from his army, fearing mutiny. One of the military commanders of that time in the Armenian city of Sebaste (presently eastern Turkey) was Agricola, a cruel man and zealous champion of idolatry. Under his command was a company of 40 Cappadocians, brave soldiers who had distinguished themselves in many battles. These men formed an elite bodyguard. When it came to Agricola’s attention that they were Christians, he determined to force them to renounce their faith and bow down to the pagan gods. He gave them two alternatives: “Either offer sacrifice to the gods and earn great honours, or in the event of your disobedience, be stripped of your military rank and fall into disgrace.“ The soldiers were thrown into jail to think this over. When these Christian soldiers refused to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods, Agricola locked them up in prison. The soldiers occupied themselves with prayer and psalmody, and during the night they heard a voice saying, “Persevere until the end, then you shall be saved.” (Matthew 10:22) On the following morning, the soldiers were again taken to Agricola. This time the pagan tried flattery. He began to praise their valour, their youth and strength, and once more he urged them to renounce Christ and thereby win themselves the respect and favour of their Emperor. When the soldiers remained unmoved, they were again thrown into prison for a week to await the arrival of Licius. 7 days later, the renowned judge Licius arrived at Sebaste and put the soldiers on trial. The Saints steadfastly answered, “Take not only our military insignia, but also our lives, since nothing is more precious to us than Christ God.” Licius repeated Agricola’s arguments of persuasion, alternating between threats and flattery. When he saw that words were of no avail, he ordered the soldiers sent to jail while he thought up a form of torture sure to change their minds. During this time they prepared themselves for the trial of martyrdom. One of them, Cyrion by name, exhorted his fellow soldiers: “God so ordained that we made friends with each other in this temporary life; let us try not to separate even in eternity; just as we have been found plea sing to a mortal king, so let us strive to be worthy of the favour of the immortal King, Christ our God.“ Licius then ordered his servants to stone the holy martyrs. But the stones missed the Saints and returned to strike those who had thrown them. One stone thrown by Licius hit Agricola in the face, smashing his teeth. The torturers realized that the Saints were guarded by some invisible power. In prison, the soldiers spent the night in prayer and again they heard the voice of the Lord comforting them: “He who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. (John 11:25) Be brave and fear not, for you shall obtain imperishable crowns.” On the following day the judge repeated the interrogation in front of the torturer, but the soldiers remained unyielding. It was winter, and there was a severe frost. They lined up the holy soldiers, threw them into a lake near the city, and set a guard to prevent them from coming out of the water. In order to break the will of the martyrs, a warm bath-house was set up on the shore. During the first hour of the night, when the cold had become unbearable, one of the soldiers made a dash for the bath-house, but no sooner had he stepped over the threshold, then he fell down dead. Seeing this, the rest of the soldiers prayed the more earnestly to God: “Help us, O God our Saviour, for here we stand in the water and our feet are stained with our blood; ease the burden of our oppression and tame the cruelty of the air; O Lord our God-on Thee do we hope, let us not be ashamed, but let all understand that we who call upon Thee have been saved.“ Their prayer was heard. During the third hour of the night, the Lord sent consolation to the martyrs. Suddenly there was light, the ice melted away, and the water in the lake became warm. All the guards were asleep, except for Aglaius, who was keeping watch. Looking at the lake he saw that a radiant crown had appeared over the head of each martyr. Aglaius counted 39 crowns and realized that the soldier who fled had lost his crown. Aglaius then woke up the other guards, took off his uniform and said to them, “I too am a Christian,” and he joined the martyrs. Standing in the water he prayed, “Lord God, I believe in You, in Whom these soldiers believe. Add me to their number, and make me worthy to suffer with Your servants.” *Reached Maximum Capacity: