The
Twenty-Second Day
Of the
Month Of February
The Passion of the Holy
Martyr
Maurice and the Seventy
Soldiers
with Him
Hoping to obtain the assistance
of his false gods in strengthening the
Hearing this, Maximian was roused to fury, and his wrath blazed hotter than fire. He was especially vexed that the Christians were his own troops. Shortly afterwards, on a pagan feast, he ordered his tribunal prepared in the Arena of Amaxicus, between the northern city gates, where all the people could see what he intended to do; then he had the martyrs brought to him. Everyone, young and old, hastened to the arena, including even maidens, who forsook their chambers. As the guards escorted into the arena Christ’s holy seventy soldiers with their leader, the Emperor cried, “We had hoped, Maurice, that as beneficiaries of our generosity, fed by our stipends and highly honored by us, you would have followed our excellent example. Had you done so, you would certainly have corrected by wise counsel and the fame of your valor those disobedient to our god- pleasing edict. We expected you to set aright the erring, strengthen the faltering, and reconcile the rebellious: to win over all who disobey our decisions. Instead, we hear that you have done the opposite. You have failed to calm the tumult and have risen up against our gods, the masters of the universe. You insult them by refusing to offer the worship and sacrifices that are their due and, still more lamentable, are guiding the errant to destruction, if what is said abut you is correct.”
“O Emperor,” replied Maurice, “demeaning your lifeless gods, we win glorious diadems of victory, prepared for us by the true God. Never (as you foolishly desire) will we insult or demean the God Who made us; rather, we shall exalt the Creator of heaven, the earth, the sea, and all that is therein. Never shall we adore the loathsome, unclean demons, intent on man’s perdition, nor their deaf, blind, inanimate statues.”
“Is this, Maurice, how you thank the gods who have bestowed upon you honors and lofty rank?” asked the Emperor.
“I have never been honored by your gods and will never worship them,” Maurice responded. “Who, knowing the true God, would proffer adoration to material objects? Only those without understanding, who are compared to mindless cattle. Only a fool would ascribe reason to stone and wood, regard them as deities, and adore them.”
“You have attained high rank among our servants,” said Maximian. “Why are you so brazen?” With this, the ruler had Maurice taken away and in a kind voice inquired of the soldiers: “Who led you astray, brethren? Who convinced you to renounce our gods and saviors and accept the errors of those who revere a criminal of the worse sort?
At this the blessed Theodore and Phillip, on behalf of all the martyrs, announced, “We, O persecutor, are not in error; rather, we wish to see you delivered from error, as we have been delivered by worshipping the true God: the Father Almighty; His Only-begotten Son Jesus Christ our Lord, true God and Wisdom and understanding, so that we confess the consubstantial Trinity. We loathe contemptible heathen superstition and will no longer serve as your troops. Henceforth, we are soldiers of God, the King of hosts.”
“Phillip, you have reached a mature age, but your mind is that of a child,” said Maximian. “You would do well to show your comrades a good example and worship the gods. This way, you will receive gifts and high honors.”
Phillip replied, “Be certain, O Emperor, that I will never give evil advice to men who have learned to fear God; for it is written: Woe to that man by whom offence cometh.”
“Our kindness and patience encourage you to be insolent. Renounce your wicked beliefs, Phillip, before our anger is aroused. Cruel tortures await you if you continue to insist that the Man you worship is a god,” Maximian threatened.
All seventy holy martyrs answered, “Odious tyrant, your bluster spurs us to welcome every torment. The wise and steadfast soul that loves the Lord is a stranger to fear.”
Flying into a rage, Maximian ordered the soldiers stripped of their uniforms and military belts. “Do you comprehend how low you have fallen as a result of your obstinacy?” he shouted.
The saints retorted, “You have taken away our uniforms and belts, expelling us from the Roman Army, but our God, Who dwells in the heavens, has clothed us in eternal glory and garments of incorruption. You are unworthy to see the Lord or hear about Him, because your father is Satan. The devil speaks and works through you.”
“Wretched ingrates, unworthy of the gifts bestowed by the gods!” exclaimed the infuriated ruler. “You richly deserve to be disgraced. While enjoying our esteem, you abused the mighty gods. You do not value our favor at all; therefore, you must be punished severely.”
The martyrs said, “O Emperor, it is a matter of little import to be enrolled as a soldier in your transitory army. The honor you bestow we regard as dishonor. You have forgotten God, Who bestowed upon you the imperial authority, and you foolishly regard as deities vain, lifeless idols, which cannot distinguish between those who revere and those who scorn them.”
“You are still alive only because, as emperor, I must show clemency,” the ruler avowed. Then Maximian, hoping that the martyrs would reconsider, commanded that they be clapped in irons and imprisoned for three days.
In the dungeon, the captives encouraged one another, saying, “Beloved brethren, we should devote ourselves to prayer and entreat the merciful God to grant us wisdom and understanding, by His Holy Spirit. May He give us a mouth and wisdom that amaze the enemy of the true faith.” As with a single soul, they prayed, “O Lord Jesus Christ, God Almighty, Whose power and kingdom are without end, send Thy Holy Spirit and guide us by Him, that we may rejoice in Him and triumph over error. May we exult in the faith through Thy good Spirit, and may the Comforter speak through us, in accordance with Thy certain promise. Recompense us for our loss of worldly glory by making us soldiers in Thy heavenly city. Number us on high as fellow-citizens with the saints, who from the ages have pleased Thee by faith; for Thou art the true God, and Thine is the glory and power unto the ages. Amen.”
On the third day Maximian mounted his tribunal, and a crowd filled the arena of Amaxicus. The holy martyrs were presented; and the persecutor, restraining his wrath, said to them kindly, “Men, choose what is to your advantage. Sacrifice to the gods, that you may escape a miserable death.”
“We have carefully thought over the matter, O Emperor; therefore, hear our reply,” said the saints. “Attempting to persuade us to offer oblations, you are merely wasting time. We are more determined than ever to hate this fleeting life and embrace death our of love for Christ, Whom we trust will reward us with the unending Kingdom. Quickly do as you intend. We will neither renounce our God, nor worship your demons. Pronounce the sentence of death, so that we may be admitted to eternal life.”
While the martyrs were speaking, the tyrant’s eye fell upon a youth among them. “Tell me, boy: what is your name, and who are your parents?” he asked.
The lad replied, “As a follower of the true light, I am called Photinus. I am a soldier of Christ, Who humiliated your father Satan, and am of Roman stock. My father according to the flesh and spirit is the most illustrious Maurice. He taught me to know God and reared me in the Christian faith. But you, O Emperor, reject Christ the Lord, and therefore have become like a mindless beast.”
“You are boneheaded stripling, and speak like a little child!” brayed the persecutor. “If you know what is to benefit and expect mercy on account of your age, you would do well to sacrifice to the great Zeus.”
Photinus replied, “You consider me stupid because I will not submit and worship idols, but I am wiser than you heathen, no matter how old you are, precisely because I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, Whom you do not accept or know.”
The persecutor then harangued all the martyrs: “How long shall I endure this insanity? Only my extreme patience stands between you and gruesome torture. Knaves, sacrifice to the gods before have tested too long our famous longsuffering. You do not wish to discover how rigorous our justice can be.”
“Loathsome, impious slave of demons, if you had any sense at all, you would have understood from Photinus’ boldness the power of our faith,” the saints responded. “If he, a mere youth, through the true faith and his knowledge of Christ exposed the falsity of idol-worship, then much more shall we, who are eager for torments, put to shame your father the devil, thereby pleasing Christ our God.”
The ruler lost his temper and commanded that the saints be stripped naked, stretched out, and flogged with rawhide straps. Christ’s soldiers were whipped mercilessly until their flesh was in shreds and the ground covered with blood. While under the lash, the saints cried to Christ God for help. The Lord did not forsake them, but was invisibly present, easing their pain and confirming their hearts in patience and divine love. Seeing that the servants were becoming exhausted, the Emperor asked the holy martyrs, “Impudent, foolish men, have you realized yet how easy it would be for me to put the lot of you to death? Sacrifice to the gods, before I subject you to worse tortures.”
“Know, impious tyrant, that just as you cannot feel Christ’s love or see His light because your heart and mind are darkened by demonic error, so we do not feel the tortures you inflict, because our minds are illumined by faith in Christ God and love for Him. We urge you, persecutor and rabid dog, to devise new and worse torments for us. Love for Christ makes us yearn to die. We wish to behold the living God, Who reigns forever,” answered the saints.
The persecutor became even more
furious and ordered an enormous fire built. Not waiting to be led into the
roaring flames, the holy martyrs entered them on their own, considering the
bonfire as inviting as a warm bath. The passion-bearers remained unharmed and
mocked the persecutor and his deities. Everyone marveled at the glorious
miracle, except for the tyrant who, as a vessel of wrath fitted to destruction,
would not acknowledge the might of God, which enabled the saints to prevail over
fire. Beside himself with anger, Maximian next had the sufferers tied to trees
and raked with iron claws. The Lord’s favorites steadfastly endured, and the
crowd was appalled by the Emperor’s insane cruelty.
Having seen the holy martyrs bravely endure every suffering, Maximian finally realized that their faith in Christ was steadfast; therefore, he assembled all his heartless, inhuman advisers and took counsel with them as to how he might put to death the Lord’s soldiers in a manner that would terrify Christians throughout the Empire. After considerable discussion, the most pitiless and impious counselors suggested the following: “As Your Majesty is well aware, it is now June. (The saints are commemorated in February, not June, because the Church endorsed their veneration only later, after careful investigation of their miracles.) To the west of the city, between two rivers and a lake, there is a marsh infested during the summer with mosquitoes, gadflies, wasps, and hornets. The insects make it difficult even to enter the area; to remain there for an hour is almost impossible. Have these men taken to the swamp, tied naked to trees, and smeared with honey, so that the mosquitoes, hornets, and flies of every sort will attack them. What torment could be worse than this? The evildoers will quickly learn not to trifle with our invincible and immortal gods.”
The proposal delighted the wicked Emperor and all the other evil counselors. Maximian commanded that Christ’s holy passion-bearers undergo this torture, and soldiers took the saints to the marsh and tied them to trees. They covered the prisoners’ bodies with hone from head to toe, then departed, leaving Photinus’ corpse in a place where his father could see it. Clouds of gnats, mosquitoes, gadflies, wasps, and hornets descended upon the holy sufferers, who were tormented for ten days and nights. The martyrs lifted up their eyes and prayed, “O Lord our God, Thou didst fashion us in Thine image and likeness, lead us to Thy truth, and instill in us knowledge of Thy divinity and that of Thine Only-begotten Son and Thy most holy, life-creating Spirit. We now commit our souls unto Thee and entreat Thee to settle us among the saints who have pleased Thee from the ages, for we have loved Thee and longed for Thee with our whole heart. It is for Thy sake that we die, O only good and compassionate God. Unto Thee is due glory forever. Amen.” With this, the martyrs surrendered their holy souls into God’s hands and were deemed worthy of crowns of everlasting glory.
Even after the martyrs had departed this life and taken up their dwelling where all are alive unto God, the iniquitous Maximian continued to rage. He ordered the sacred corpses beheaded and the remains left unburied in the marsh, to serve as food for birds and beast. During the night, however, faithful brethren, trembling with fear, gathered the relics and committed them to the earth, praising our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is glorified with the Father and the Holy Spirit unto the ages.
Amen
On this same day we commemorate
our venerable father Athanasius the Confessor. During the reign of the
Iconoclast Leo the Armenian, he endured many hardships and tortures, as well as
banishment, for the sacred icons. We also commemorate our holy monastic fathers
Thalassius, Limnaeus, and Baradates, desert-dwellers of