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St. torment. Agathonika, Zotika, Theoprepius (Bogolepa) and others with them A certain Eutolmius, sent to the Pontic country to persecute Christians, in the town of Carpen killed Zotikos and his disciples, and returning to Nicomedia captured Agathonikos, who came from the noble family of Hippasius, and the princeps, that is, the leading member of the Senate (princeps senati), who had converted him to the faith of Christ, and with other Christians, among whom were Zeno, Severian, Theoprepius and Akindinus led them to Thrace, where Emperor Galerius was then (308). On the road, in the area of ​​Potama, he killed Zeno, Theoprepius and Akindinus, because they could no longer walk from previously inflicted wounds and exhaustion, and near Chalcedon - St. Severiana. Agathonikos and others were brought to Silivria, tortured and beheaded along with others, according to the sentence of Galerius. During the time of Emperor Constantius, the relics of St. Agathonicus were transferred to Constantinople and placed in the church named after him, but the head remained in Silivria. Philotheus, Archbishop of Silivria in the 14th century, honored St. Agaeonics is a word of praise, from which we cite something here (Migne Patrologiae Graecae tom. 154). “Of the former philosophers, church orators and others skilled in words, no one honored the exploits of the crowned martyr Agathonikos with a deliberate word; but when others have passed in silence worthy of unforgettable memory, I will praise them. Although I admit that I am not eloquent, and even very incapable of this matter, none of you, I think, will accuse me of vain insolence. Not out of a desire for empty glory, not out of any bad motive, but out of respect for the martyr, for the edification and consolation of the inhabitants of the city, I will begin my speech, and you, who trust in the intercession of the martyr, listen. If we were talking about anyone else, then maybe there would be a fair place for censure: and when we talk about deeds of Christian courage, then it’s fair for you to rejoice with me.” “First of all, it is decent to speak about the saint’s fatherland; and since two cities appropriate him, one as having given birth to him and raising him, the other as having given him the palm of testimony of Christ and the crown of victory, in which his sacred head is preserved, giving many healings to kings, princes and all those who come in faith: then, according to the rules of oratory, it is necessary to say about these glorious cities what is common in them and what is characteristic of each individual.” Having praised Nicodemus, although now (since 1326) “due to our sins it was taken by the barbarians,” and Silivria, famous for the courage of its inhabitants and industry, continues. “The father of the glorious and wonderful Agathonikos was Asklipiades, the dignity of the dioceses (city), the son of Hippasius, who had power among the kings; the mother is the noble Agathia. He was a pagan by faith, and she was a pious Christian. He was baptized at birth and in his fifth year of age was entrusted to a teacher to teach him to read and write. Having tasted Greek education, so that he could write and read accurately, he became devoted to the art of war. In everything, he turned out to be not one of the ordinary people, but noticeable and the best in advice and judgments about civil government, in the execution of orders and in military affairs. Therefore, he was very often called to meetings of officials, to national meetings and to meetings about spectacles. He was known to the kings by his parents, and was ranked among the senators and leading dignitaries. He was equal in mental acuity to Themistocles and Alcibiades, was made a military leader (strategist), and himself won victories over the barbarians. If Homer had known him, he would have placed him on a par with Odysseus and other Greek heroes and called him a good adviser and an excellent warrior, and although he could have had obvious signs of his glory, he preferred modesty and self-restraint, and refused the statues and pillars with which many after that time rulers and military leaders were usually honored; he most revered virtue without reward and exalted himself by his own actions.” Having spoken about his martyrdom, he continues: “God, who glorifies His servants, glorified His martyr Agathonikos with the gift of healings in the city of Silivria, just as he glorified others in other cities, for example, Gregory in Caesarea in Cappadocia, Demetrius the Myrrh-streaming in Thessaly, the glorious and holy Theodore in Tire. If the pagan Greeks considered it an honor that they had Pindar in Thebes, Hesiod in Viotia, if the Smyrans were famous for Homer, then how much more fitting is it for us to boast of Agathonikos, the champion of truth! For whoever was ill in this glorious city of Silivria or in any other place came to the tomb of the holy martyr, everyone left relieved and healed of their illnesses, thanking and magnifying Agathonicus. No less than then, and now, his sacred head daily exudes wondrous actions, giving healing and curing every disease. For the rest of the body has long been dismantled piece by piece by believers who reverently preserve this sacred property; and others say that the Latins, after conquering the reigning city (1204), having taken possession of Silivria, took the body of the martyr to ancient Rome, like many other relics. Because the Latins, by God's permission, held the royal city in their power for fifty years and took away many treasures from churches, palaces and houses, until they were expelled by the strong hand of Tsar Michael Palaeologus, the first to belong to the house of Angels. The bloated body of this emperor (ὀγκούμενσς) is still seen in this our city, in the monastery of the Savior Christ: because, having achieved the highest honors, he betrayed the faith, persecuted citizens and stole the kingdom from the son of Theodore Lascaris, for which he was excommunicated from the church by His Holiness Patriarch Arsenios.” “So the sacred head of the martyr continuously carries out healings and performs wonderful deeds, healing many different diseases. Without mentioning others, let us recall three of his miracles. Tsar Michael Porphyrogenitus, who co-reigned with Andronicus, through the intercession of the saint got rid of his headache and erected this cathedral (καθολικον ναὸν) church in his honor, and elevated the very department from the archdiocese subordinate to the patriarch to the metropolis. Another miracle. Alexei Apokavkos, the great dux, who was healed by the saint from a dangerous illness, erected in his honor another church on the Sands (κατὰ τὰσ Ἄμμους) in this city, where the saint committed martyrdom, and this church is preserved to this day and is visible to everyone. And just recently, our glorious king John Palaiologos (1341–1391) was healed of his illness when he diligently prayed before the head of the martyr brought to him.” Celebration of the Georgian Icon of the Mother of God When the Persian Shah Abbas, in 1622, during the reign of Mikhail Feodorovich, conquered Georgia and took the multi-healing robe of the Lord there: then many other shrines and honorable icons were taken by the Persians not for veneration, but for sale to Russian merchants who were in Persia, whose reverence for the shrine was known to the Persians. Therefore, to one of the Russian merchants, Stefan, a certain Persian, knowing that Russians reverently honor sacred images, brought for sale a Georgian icon of the Mother of God decorated with silver and gold. Stephen happily bought St. the icon in 1625 and kept it at home. At this time, in Yaroslavl, a certain Grigory Lytkin, on whose business Stefan was in Persia, received a revelation from God in a dream about the jewelry acquired by Stefan, and an order to send it to the Krasnogorsk monastery of the Arkhangelsk province, founded in 1603. When Stefan returned to his homeland in 1629 with the icon and showed it to Gregory, Gregory, remembering his vision of the shrine acquired by Stefan, went with the icon to the Dvina borders to the Montenegrin monastery, so called because it was built on a mountainous place, which, due to dense forests, had a gloomy appearance and for this reason from ancient times it was called the Black Mountain. Subsequently the monastery was renamed Krasnogorsky. Together with the icon, Gregory brought a lot of donations from himself to decorate the shrine. Here St. The icon became famous for many miracles. At the same time that the pestilence was raging in Moscow, a Georgian icon was brought there, from which in 1654 an exact copy was taken and placed in the church of St. Great Martyr Nikita, in Glinitsy. At this time, one of the residents of Moscow was thinking of leaving the capital, devastated by the plague: he was instructed from above to go and pray before the icon of the Georgian Mother of God. Having accomplished this, he remained unharmed with his entire family. Such an event spread among the people, who began to flock in crowds with prayer to the miraculous icon. True faith was indeed justified by the end of the deadly plague. Since that time in. Lists of the Georgian icon began to be distributed among churches in Moscow. One of them, richly decorated by the Tsar and the Patriarch, is located in the Moscow Alekseevsky nunnery. In 1658, by decree of the Tsar and the blessing of Patriarch Nikon, an annual celebration was established for the miraculous image of the Georgian Mother of God on the 22nd day of August. One charter from 1698 says: “through the image of the Georgian Pres. The Mother of God, before and now, works many miracles and healings for those who come with faith”; and this year, at the request of Archbishop Afanasy of Kholmogory and Vazh, a canon in honor of the Georgian Mother of God was compiled by the caretaker of the Moscow printing house Fyodor Polikarpov. In 1698, it was decided to bring the Georgian icon to Arkhangelsk annually, “for the sake of the consecration of the city and the Christ-loving peoples who demand the mercy of God and her Mother of God.” After August 22, the Georgian icon leaves from Krasnogorsk to Arkhangelsk, where it remains until September 8. On this day, it is brought from the Arkhangelsk Monastery to the Nativity parish church, 2 versts from the city, and from there, after the liturgy and prayer service during the procession, it is transferred to the cathedral cathedral church. She stays here until November 27. In the second week of Lent, after the liturgy and prayer service, the icon is accompanied in a procession of the cross back from the Archangel Cathedral to the Archangel Monastery. From here, in the fourth week of Pentecost, after the liturgy, he returns to the Krasnogorsk monastery, where, upon the arrival of the icon on the Saturday of the Praise of the Mother of God, a great celebration is celebrated, with a gathering of large people.