The Holy Martyr Eustathius and His Companions.
Eustathius was a great Roman general
during the reigns of Emperors Titus and Trajan. Though he was a
pagan, Placidas (for that was his pagan name) was a just and merciful
man, similar to Cornelius the Centurion, who was baptized by the
Apostle Peter (Acts 10). Out hunting one day, he pursued a stag. By
God's providence, a cross appeared between the antlers of the stag
and the voice of the Lord came to Placidas, directing him to go to a
Christian priest and become baptized. Placidas was baptized, along
with his wife and two sons. At baptism, he received the name
Eustathius; his wife, Theopiste (``faithful to God''); and his sons,
Agapitus and Theopistus. After his baptism, he returned to the place
where he had experienced the revelation of the stag and, kneeling,
gave thanks to God that He had brought him to the truth. Just then,
the voice of the Lord again manifested itself to him, foretold that
he would suffer for His name, and strengthened him. Then Eustathius
secretly left Rome with his family, intending to hide among the
simple people and serve God in humble and unknown surroundings.
Arriving in Egypt, he was immediately beset by trials. An evil
barbarian abducted his wife, and both of his sons were seized by wild
beasts and carried away. However, the barbarian soon lost his life,
and the children were saved from the wild beasts by shepherds.
Eustathius settled in the Egyptian village of Vadisis and lived there
for fifteen years as a hired laborer. Then barbarians attacked the
Roman Empire, and Emperor Trajan grieved that he did not have the
brave General Placidas, who had carried the victory whenever he
fought. The emperor sent two of his officers to seek the great
commander throughout the empire. By God's providence, these officers
(who were once companions of Eustathius), came to the village of
Vadisis, found Eustathius and brought him back to the emperor.
Eustathius amassed an army and defeated the barbarians. On the way
back to Rome, Eustathius found his wife and both sons. Meanwhile,
Emperor Trajan had died and Emperor Hadrian was on the throne. When
Hadrian summoned General Eustathius to offer sacrifices to the gods,
Eustathius declined, declaring himself a Christian. The emperor
subjected him and his wife and sons to torture. They were thrown to
the wild beasts, but this did them no harm. Then they were cast into
a red-hot metal ox. On the third day their dead bodies were removed,
but they were unharmed by the fire. Thus, this glorious commander
rendered unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the
things that are God's (Luke 20:25), and took up his habitation in the
Eternal Kingdom of Christ our God.
The Holy Martyrs and Confessors, the Great Prince Michael and His Counsellor Theodore, Wonder-workers of Chernigov.
Prince Michael
of Chernigov visited the Tartar horde with Theodore, his Boyar, at
the invitation of Khan Batu. Since they refused to follow the Tartar
custom of passing through fire and worshiping idols before gaining
audience with the king, they were beheaded. This occurred in the year
1244. Their relics, witnesses of their martyric death for Christ the
Lord, repose in the Church of the Archangel in Moscow.
Respectfully Taken From the:
"The Prologue of Ohrid"
by St. Nikolai of Zica, Serbia(Velimirovic)
No comments:
Post a Comment