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The Third Finding of the Head of Saint John the Baptist During the persecution of St. icons, in the 8th century, the head of the Forerunner was transferred from Constantinople to Comana, the place of exile and death of Chrysostom, and there again it hid and was unknown until the restoration of Orthodox icon veneration. During the reign of Michael, in 857, the honorable head of the Forerunner was found for the third time and transferred to Constantinople for the second time by Patriarch Ignatius. On the day of the third discovery of the venerable head of the Forerunner, the Church cries out: “As a Divine treasure hidden in the earth, Christ has opened your head to us, Prophet and Forerunner. All who have come together in this finding, let us sing the Savior’s hymns of God, saving us from corruption through your prayers.” Holy Hieromartyr Ferapont Bishop of Cyprus, who performed a suffering feat and accepted martyrdom during what is believed to be the persecution of Diocletian. Before the invasion of the island. Cyprus Saracen relics of the saint were transferred to Constantinople. During this transfer, in 806, it is believed that on May 25, during the reign of the Greek Emperor Nicephorus, the relics of St. Ferapont has many miracles; they were described by a contemporary and, in many ways, an eyewitness of them, who, narrating about them, testifies that he described “of many miracles only a few.” † Suffering of St. Pasikrates, Valention and their friends The martyrs of Christ Pasikrates and Valention were, says the ancient news 419, from the city of Dorostol of Macedon, warriors, but Christians. Both of them were young, Pasikrates was 22 years old, and Valentin was 30 years old; but both were mature in spirit. When they saw that worshipers of idols bowed to stones, and weak Christians, fearing torment, made sacrifices; They, inspired by holy zeal, freely confessed that only the Christian God is the true God, and idols are soulless substance. Having been captured, they were brought to the prefect. When they were told to make a sacrifice to the god Apollo, Pasikrates spat on the idol. Then his brother Panian, who had previously retreated from Christ for fear of torment, approached Pasikrates and began to convince him to make a sacrifice in order to get rid of the torment. Pasikrates drove his brother away, calling him unworthy of being related to him. When Valention was questioned, he answered that he was of the same convictions as Pasikrates. Therefore, both were deprived of their heads, while the mother of Pasikrates stood right there and persuaded her son to martyrdom. Following this, the exploits of the friends of Pasikrates and, first of all, Saint Julius began. According to modern news 420, blessed Julius was captured by the servants and brought to the prefect Maxim. “Is it true what they say about you, Julius?” Maxim asked, Julius answered: “It’s true, I’m a Christian, I don’t want to pretend to be someone else.” “Don’t you know,” said the prefect, the decree of the emperors commanding sacrifice to the gods? Julius answered: “I know; but I am a Christian, I cannot do what you want; I should not renounce the living and true God.” Maxim said: what is the importance of smoking incense and leaving? Diocletian, as is known, was the first to command that honors be given to him as a deity 421. When accepting his salary, the warrior smoked incense in front of the image of the new deity. The pagan prefect senses the strangeness of this trick of Diocletian and thinks to cover it up with the sarcasm of an indifferentist. Julius answered the prefect: “I cannot break the commandment of God. I served in the military service for 26 years and they did not bring me before a judge as a criminal or as an absurd person; I went to war seven times; I was not disobedient in front of my superiors and fought no worse than anyone. Don’t they think that then, just as I was faithful in the lowest, I will turn out to be unfaithful in the highest?” Maxim asked: in what army did Julius serve? “I served,” answered Julius, in the light army and left the service, “I am a veteran 422. But I honored the living God, who created heaven and earth, and now I render eternal service to Him.” Maxim said that Julius would receive 10 denarii as a reward and would be left alone if he only obeyed now. “Neither money nor flattering convictions will turn me away from the eternal Lord,” answered the confessor. “We must obey the laws,” said Maxim. “I suffer for the eternal laws,” answered Julius. - For those that the Crucified One taught you? It’s not smart to respect a dead man and not living emperors, the prefect said. Julius answered: “He died for our sins to give us eternal life, but He is eternal God.” Maxim said: obey, make a sacrifice, otherwise you choose death for yourself. “I choose the fate of dying for a while and living forever,” answered Julius. The prefect pronounced the decision: Julius, who disobeys the decrees of the emperors, should be deprived of his head. When they led St. Julius at the place of execution, Hesychius, a warrior and Christian who was in custody, said to the martyr Julius: “I ask you, Julius, fulfill your promise with joy, you will receive the crown that the Lord promised to His confessors. Remember also about me, I am coming after you, especially greet Pasicrates and Valention, the servants of God, who before us came to the Lord with a good confession.” Julius, kissing Hesychius, said: “Hurry to come, brother; and your wishes are heard by those whom you welcomed.” Then Julius took a handkerchief, blindfolded his eyes with it and, stretching out his neck, said: “Lord Jesus Christ! I am dying for Your name; deign to accept my soul as one of the saints.” The servant cut off his head. The servant of Christ suffered on the 6th calendar. June (May 27). St. Hesychius, with two others, suffered martyrdom on June 25, 423. Two days later, two more soldiers, also friends of St., suffered. Pasikrates, Nikander and Iarkian 424. When they were presented for trial, Prefect Maximus told them: if you did not know the decree of the emperors commanding sacrifices to the gods, then fulfill them now. “The decree,” answered Nikander, applies to those who wish to make a sacrifice; but we, Christians, cannot be subject to it.” Maxim said: why don't you accept awards for your services? “The money of wickedness is unpleasant for the worshipers of the true God,” answered Nikander. “Just smoke incense for the gods,” said Maxim. Nikander answered: “A Christian cannot honor stones and trees and forget about God, who created everything out of nothing and is able to save me and all those who hope in Him.” Spouse of St. Nikandra told him: “Beware, my lord, of doing this; beware of denying our Lord Jesus Christ; look to the sky and there you will see Him, to whom you must remain faithful.” Maxim said: stupid woman's head! Why do you want your husband to die? “So,” she answered, “so that he may live with God and never die.” “No,” said Maxim, you want to get a healthier husband. “If you think so about me,” she answered, kill me first for Christ, if only you have a decree about women.” Maxim said that he did not have such a decree, but she would be in prison, and she was taken to prison. Maxim gave Nikandr time to think about the cost of life. Nikander replied that the matter had already been thought out and that he wanted nothing more than spiritual salvation. – What do you say, Markian? said the prefect. “I stand on the same ground as my military comrade,” answered Marcian. “So, you both will be taken to prison and will undoubtedly suffer execution,” said the prefect. After 20 days they are brought from prison to the prefect. “Enough time has been spent admonishing you to obey the decree of the emperors,” said Maxim. “Your words,” answered Marcian, will not force us to renounce our faith and renounce God. He is present here and we know where He is calling. Don't hold us back. Now our faith is perfected in Christ. Send us away quickly so that we may see the Crucified One; You reproach Him with unclean lips, but we honor Him.” “At your request, you will be put to death,” said the prefect. “For the health of the emperors, we ask you,” answered Marcian, “to quickly let us go. We are not afraid of torment, but we wish that our wish would come true as soon as possible.” “It’s not I who are persecuting you,” said Maxim, but the decrees of the emperors; I am innocent of your blood. Then he pronounced the death sentence. The holy martyrs of Christ seemed to say with their lips alone: ​​“Be happy, philanthropic prefect!” They left the court joyfully. Nikander was followed by his wife and Pinian, the brother of the martyr Pasikrates, who was carrying the baby, Nikandrov’s son. Markian's relatives and his wife followed. “Woe to me, poor thing!” the last one screamed; - “Have mercy on me, my lord, look at your dear son; do not reject us." Marcian, looking sternly at her, said: “How Satan has darkened your mind! Get away from us; let me finish my martyrdom.” Christian Zotik, supporting his hand, said: “Be strong, sir - brother! You are doing a good deed. Where can we weak people get such faith? Marcian said to Zotik: “Hold my wife.” And Zotik took it. When they arrived at the place, Markian called his wife, kissed her and said: “Go with God; You cannot look at the glorious feat of martyrdom; your thoughts are confused by the evil one.” And kissing his son and looking at the sky, he said: “Lord Almighty! take care of him." Nikander also said goodbye to his wife. "God be with you!" he said. She joyfully said: “I was without you in my homeland for ten years and wanted to see you every hour; Now I see and rejoice that you are moving towards life; I rejoice that I am becoming the wife of a martyr.” The martyrs were blindfolded and the sword ended their lives. The martyrs of Christ Nikander and Marcian reposed in the 15th cal. July (June 1st). Since Prefect Maximus persuaded the “emperors” to carry out the decree and more than once mentioned emperors, it is clearly seen that the suffering of the Durostol warriors took place during the persecution of Diocletian and Maximian, in 302, and not under the Emperor Severus, as Baronius thought 425. It is known that on the right bank of the Danube, where Durostol, in the 3rd century the Slavs 426 already lived in strong masses and they were the best warriors of the empire 427. So St. The martyrs, both in their place of residence and in their service, were from the Slavs, and the example of their firm self-sacrifice for the holy faith certainly aroused in many relatives their respect and love for St. faith 428. Menologist of Vasily and Chet-Minea. The suffering of the martyrs is placed here under April 24, and in the prologue - under April 21. But a modern description of the suffering of their friends Julius and Hesychius shows that the suffering took place in May and that Pasikrates’s comrade was called Valention, and not Valentinus, as in the menologist. In the martyrology of Adon and Usuard - on May 25: “in Mysia, in the city of Dorostel, the torment of Pasicrates, Valention and two others crowned together.” Patrolog. 124, 86. 87. 94. Translating an ancient account of martyrdom, ed. from Runnart: Acta Martyrum sine. 3. 271–274. Prosper in the Chronicle: Primus Diocletianus adorari se ut Deum iussit. The expression: sub arma militavi, put in Runnart’s text, only in later times began to be used in the meaning of frontline military service, so that the army is opposed to the police and the Cossacks. Therefore it is permissible to read in the text: sub parma militavi. This means that Julius served in the light army, for which a round shield (parma, παρμη), made of wood and covered with oxhide, was a necessary accessory. The light army (milites levis armaturæ, leves) was also distinguished by the fact that it was not divided into cohorts and fought in scattered groups (Adam Roman Antiquities 2, 179. 180). This reading of the text is also supported by the fact that what was needed on the Danube was precisely an irregular, light army, always ready to repel the Transdanubian enemies of the empire. In Adon and Usuard, Julius is depicted as follows: cum esset veteranus et emeritae militisæ. So in the martyrologies of Jerome, Adon and others. The Greek acts of martyrdom were known to Allatius de Symeonum scriptis p. 121. Latin acts ed. in Runnart 8, 375–380. Greek text ed. at Papebroch act. sanct. jun. 3.247 s. The suffering of Nikander and Marcian took place in lower Mysia, in the same place where St. Pasicrates and Julius; in both acts the prefect is the same, and his action is the same and the saint is the same. Pasnkrat with his brother. In Vasily's minologist the legend of St. Nikandra and Marciana on July 7 are close to the testimony of the record of their martyrdom, but the legend of the synaxar on June 8 exposes much that is not at all in the acts. Ruinartus 3, 271. Vershinsky mesalov p. 64. About the Slavs of Durostol and its neighboring places, see July 18, Ave. 10. Durostol by Ptolemy, Durosten on the Peftinger map, Diristra and Dristra by the Byzantines; Drestvin in Russian. chronicles, among the Turks, Silistria, by its ancient name, is a Slavic city. Adam: “under the emperors, the Roman troops were mostly composed of foreigners, and the provinces were saddened to see that the flower of their youth was being taken to the battlefield.” Roman ancients 2, 177. In 537, 1600 Ants and Slavs from those who lived settled along the Danube were sent to Velichar in Rome. Procopius de bello Gothico 1, 27. At the Council of Ephesus in 431 there was a bishop of Durostol; but after that there was no bishop in Durostol until the 10th century. Wiltsch kirch. stat. 1, 175, 428.