The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste are Christian warriors who laid down their lives in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in the city of Sebastia (Lesser Armenia, the territory of modern Turkey). This happened in 320, during the reign of Licinius. In the Orthodox Church, this day is celebrated on March 9 (22).
In honor of this event, the Church of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste was built in Moscow, which also had to endure many difficult trials. This will be described in detail below.
It is also worth noting that the feast of the Forty Martyrs of Sebastia in the most ancient chronology refers to the most revered holidays. On the day of their memory, strict fasting is eased, wine is allowed to be drunk, and the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is served.
The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste: Life
After the rest of the emperors died in civil strife, the pagan Licinius and the Christian Constantine I remained the rulers of the Roman worldGreat. The latter issued a decree in 313 that Christians were allowed complete freedom of religion, and from that moment on their rights were equalized with pagans.
However, Licinius was an inveterate pagan. He considered Christians to be his sworn enemies. In addition, he was preparing his troops for the war against Constantine, because he decided to finally clear his land of adherents of this faith.
Agricolai
At the same time, in Sebastia, the commander Agricolaus, a zealous supporter of paganism, under whose command a squad of forty brave warriors of Cappadocian Christians, who repeatedly emerged victorious from battles, went, decided to force them to renounce their faith and demanded to sacrifice to the pagan gods. But the brave men refused, then they were immediately arrested and put in prison. There they began to earnestly pray to God and at night they heard His voice: “He who endures to the end will be saved!”.
Then Agricolaus went to cunning and flattery, he began to praise the young men as courageous warriors who should win favor with the emperor himself, and therefore should renounce Christ.
Fox
Exactly a week later, a dignitary Lysias arrived to them to arrange a trial against them. But the forty martyrs of Sebaste firmly stood for faith in Christ and were ready to give their lives. Then Lysias ordered the martyrs to be stoned. However, a stone thrown by himself hit Agricolaus squarely in the face. The tormentors were greatly frightened when they felt that invisible force that protected the forty martyrs of Sebaste.
And the Christian soldiers were again taken to the dungeon, where they continuedfervently pray to Christ and again heard His voice: “Whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will come to life. Fear nothing, for incorruptible crowns await you.”
The next morning there was an interrogation again. It was decided to take the soldiers to the lake in the cold and leave them on the ice for the whole night in custody. And nearby, on the shore, a bathhouse was flooded for temptation. One of the soldiers could not stand it and ran to the bathhouse, but, not having time to run, fell dead.
Aglaius
At the third hour of the night, the Lord sent them light and warmth, the ice melted under them, and they found themselves in warm water. At this time, all the guards were sleeping, only Aglaius was on duty. Suddenly he saw a bright crown appear over the head of each warrior. Missing one crown, he realized that the fugitive had lost it, and then Aglaius, waking up the guards, threw off his clothes, shouted that he was a Christian, and joined the rest of the martyrs. Once next to them, he began to pray to the God in whom these holy warriors believed. And he asked Christ to join him to them, so that he would be honored to suffer with His servants.
In the morning everyone saw that they were still alive, and with them Aglaius, glorifying Christ. Then they were all taken out of the water to break their shins.
Meliton
The last day of the forty martyrs of Sebaste began with terrible agony. During this terrible execution, the mother of the youngest warrior Meliton was next to him and urged her son not to be afraid of trials and endure everything to the end. After torture, the mutilated bodies of the martyrs were placed on a wagon train to be taken to be burned. But alsoyoung Meliton was left on the ground, as he was still breathing. His mother, who happened to be next to him, lifted her son on her shoulders and dragged him after the convoy. On the way, he expired. The mother, dragging her son to the chariot, laid him next to his holy ascetics. Soon their bodies were burned at the stake, and the charred remains of the bones were thrown into the water so that the Christians would not take them.
Three days later, in a dream, the Bishop of Sebaste, blessed Peter, saw the forty martyrs of Sebaste, who ordered him to collect their remains and bury them. At night, the bishop, together with several clerics, collected the remains of the glorious holy martyrs and buried them with honor.
Church of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste in Moscow
In memory of these martyrs, temples began to be built all over the earth. One of them is located to the left of the entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. It is notable for being the tomb of the Jerusalem patriarchs, although the first bishop of Jerusalem was the named brother of Jesus, James, who was one of the 70 apostles. For all the time there were 43 bishops. Later, in 451, in Chalcedon, at the Fourth Ecumenical Council, it was decided to raise the bishop of Jerusalem to the rank of patriarch.
The only church of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste was also built in Moscow, its history attracts and delights many Orthodox. It is located directly opposite the Novospassky Monastery, along Dinamovskaya Street, 28. This temple was originally called Sorokosvyatsky and owes its creation to this ancient monastery.
It all started when Tsar MichaelFedorovich in 1640 settled here palace masons, who were engaged in the construction of new stone walls of the monastery and its main shrine - the Transfiguration Cathedral. After the completion of all the affairs, the masters remained to live in this place, which then still bore the name Taganskaya Sloboda.
Great upheavals
In 1645 they built the Church of the Forty Saints opposite the monastery. Throughout history, it has repeatedly been overtaken by disasters. In 1764, it was robbed and all church utensils, jewelry, the holy cross and icons were taken out. After the plague of 1771, the number of parishioners decreased significantly. In 1773, there was a fire, and all the parish houses burned down, the temple was under threat of closure, but thanks to the testimony of deacon Peter Svyatoslavsky (Velyaminov) that the parish people would rebuild their homes, the cathedral was left alone. The deacon himself was ordained a priest to continue serving in this church.
In 1801 the building was fenced with a stone fence, a new bell tower was built. Among the parishioners of the temple was the famous artist F. S. Rokotov, who was later buried in the cemetery of the Novospassky Monastery.
Feat of Father Peter
In 1812 the Church of the Forty Martyrs was completely plundered by Napoleonic troops. They martyred the rector of the church, Father Peter (Velyaminov). He refused to give them the place where the main valuable shrines were kept. He was cut down with sabers and stabbed with bayonets. All night he lay in a pool of blood, but he was still alive. On the morning of September 3, one Frenchmantook pity on him and shot him in the head.
His body was buried without a coffin and a funeral service, and the enemies dug it up three times. Only on December 5, when his body was once again dug up, was Father Peter able to be buried according to the church rite. Eyewitnesses said that for three months the body of the priest, in spite of everything, remained incorruptible, and even wounds bled.
Renewal and another desecration
Then, gradually, with the help of kind people, the temple again began to be decorated, updated and brought into proper shape. In memory of the feat of his faithful servant, a gilded memorial plaque was nailed to the wall.
After the revolution, the scenario for all churches was the same, the new government destroyed and robbed everything, priests and believers were killed, sent into exile. During the Great Patriotic War, the temple housed a workshop for the manufacture of ingots for shells. In 1965, a research institute settled here, then a department of the Ministry of Mechanical Engineering. The temple was handed over to the church only in 1990 at the request of Patriarch Alexy II.
Conclusion
At the very end, it should be noted that according to the new style, the feast of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste falls on March 22. In Russia, according to the peasant custom, on this day, believers bake buns in the form of larks, as they have become a symbol of the glory of the Lord, ex alted by the exploits of the great martyrs, who showed true humility and aspiration upward, to the Kingdom of Heaven, to Christ, the Sun of Truth.
