22-го числа

Holy Martyr Mauritius and with him 70 soldiers When the Roman Emperor Maximian, a merciless persecutor of Christians (in the 4th century), traveling around the eastern countries of the empire to inspect, arrived in the mountains. Apamea (in Syria), it was reported to him that the commander of the local army, Mauritius, and 70 of his soldiers professed the Christian faith. Wanting to make sure of the justice of this report, Maximian himself interrogated his soldiers and, having heard from them confirmation that they were Christians, he tried first to convince them with admonitions and then threats to renounce the incomprehensible to him belief in the Risen Christ. He soon realized, however, that all his convictions were in vain, and, irritated by the inflexibility of the Christians, he ordered them to be tortured. Thinking of influencing Mauritius with the most powerful weapon, Maximian ordered his son, the young man Photinus, to be tortured in his presence. But the firmness of the Christian youth did not yield to the inveterateness of the pagan. Fearlessly and uncomplainingly, Photin accepted all the torment and death for the confession of faith in Christ, and Mauritius, his father, not only was not troubled in spirit, but rejoiced that Jesus Christ deigned his son to suffer for the sake of His holy name. With the same unyielding courage, Mauritius and its 70 soldiers endured all the suffering. Finally, they were condemned to a painful death: they were taken to one swampy place, where there was an impenetrable multitude of mosquitoes, wasps and gadflies; here, having tied them naked to trees, they smeared their bodies with honey... For ten days and nights the martyrs remained in this cruel torture from insects, hunger and thirst; But is there really a torture that exceeds the patience of a human heart that truly loves God... Amidst prayer and praise, these warriors of Christ finally betrayed their souls to the Heavenly King. But their painful death did not satisfy the irritation of the pagan. Maximian ordered to cut off their heads and scatter their bodies for the birds to tear to pieces. Some believers managed, however, to collect the remains of the righteous and bury them (about 305). Saints Thalassius and Limnia, Syrian hermits who lived in the 5th century We have the village of Tillima, where the seeds of Marcian’s wickedness were once sown, and now the teaching of the Gospel is flourishing,” says Blessed Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrus, who personally knew them, about the saints of God remembered today. “To the south of this village there is a hill, not very high and not very low. It was here that the wondrous Thalassius, a man adorned with many good qualities and surpassing his contemporaries in simplicity of character, meekness and humility of mind, set up an ascetic refuge for himself. I say this not just from hearsay, but from experience: I myself went to see the holy man and often enjoyed his sweet conversation.” “Limnius, now glorified by all, was also accepted into his company, who, having entered the ascetic field at a very young age, showed great success in high philosophy.” In particular, he strictly observed silence, “he lived for a long time without talking to anyone.” Away from any distraction, in complete concentration of thought and feeling directed toward “the one thing needed,” a wise lover of the truth and beauty of the Divine raised his soul and, having tempered it with long-term experience and skill, wished for complete solitude and settled on the top of another mountain, near the village of Targaltsky. Here he lived in the open air, having neither a hut nor a tent, fenced only by a bare wall and not receiving anyone. Over time, the feeling of love for people, not suppressed, but purified and clarified and made wise among the feats of prayer, self-deepening and self-denial, manifested itself in the life of Limnius in the fact that he gathered around him many blind and poor people, built for both of them a dwelling on the sides of his mountain and instructed them in prayer and praise to God. He entrusted food for them to be delivered to those numerous visitors who came to him on their own in the hope of being nourished by his conversation, which acted not as a carnal instrument, but from above - a grace-filled spiritual one, “captivating every mind into the obedience of Christ”...