The Holy Seven Children of Ephesus.
There was a great persecution of
Christians during the reign of Decius. The emperor himself came to
Ephesus and there arranged a boisterous and noisy celebration in
honor of the lifeless idols as well as a terrible slaughter of
Christians. Seven young men, soldiers, refrained from the impure offering of sacrifices and they earnestly prayed to the one God to
save the Christian people. They were the sons of the most influential
elders of Ephesus and their names were Maximilian, Jamblichus, Martin
[Martinian], John, Dionysius, Exacustodianus, and Antonin
[Antoninus]. When they were accused before the emperor, they
retreated to a hill outside Ephesus called Celion and there they hid
in a cave. When the emperor learned of this, he commanded that the
cave be sealed off. However, God according to His far-reaching
Providence caused a miraculous and long-lasting sleep to fall upon
the young men. The imperial courtiers, Theodore and Rufinus, secret
Christians, built in that wall a copper sarcophagus with lead plaques
on which were written the names of these young men and their martyr's
death during the reign of Emperor Decius. More than two hundred years
then passed. During the reign of Emperor Theodosius the Younger
(408-450 A.D.), there was a great dispute about the resurrection.
There were some that doubted the resurrection. Emperor Theodosius was
in great sorrow as a result of this dispute among the faithful and
prayed to God that He, in some way, would reveal the truth to men. At
that time of turmoil in the Church some sheepherders of Adolius, who
owned the hill Celion began to build folds for the sheep and removed
stone after stone from that cave. The youths then awakened from their
sleep young and healthy, the same as when they fell asleep. The news
of this miracle was spread abroad on all sides so that even
Theodosius himself came with a great entourage and with delight
conversed with the youths. After a week, they again fell into the
sleep of death to await the general resurrection. Emperor Theodosius
wanted to place their bodies in gold sarcophagi but they appeared to
him in a dream and told him to leave them in the earth as they were
laid out.The Holy Venerable Martyr Eudoxia.
Respectfully Taken From the:
"The Prologue of Ohrid"
by St. Nikolai of Zica, Serbia(Velimirovic)
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