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St. Artemon, Bishop of Seleucia of Pisidia A native of Seleucia of Pisidia, he was enlightened by St. Paul the Apostle around 45 AD. (Acts 14) and was appointed bishop of that city. Godly ruling over the flock entrusted to him, he reposed in the Lord in his old age. † The suffering of Stephen and Peter, martyrs of Kazan “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; “But fear rather than him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28), as the Savior taught. But Mohammed did not and could not teach this way. Mohammed's morality is low and dirty: it corrupts the soul and body here, in earthly life; such is the eternity of Magomet. Who would listen to Mohammed if he began to demand the sacrifice of temporary life for his faith? Can his dirty eternity be treasured by a soul created in the image of God? Christian eternity is another matter: it is just as sublime, pure, and spiritual as Christian morality is pure and spiritual. The immortal soul sees this, feels this. Blessed Stephen and Peter, former Mohammedans of Kazan, saw this and sacrificed their lives for the lofty Christian teaching. When Timofey, the archpriest of the Kremlin Cathedral, was in Sviyazhsk, having been sent there with a message from the Metropolitan to the army (this was in 1552) 229; then a Tatar from the Arsk side came to him and announced that he wanted to be baptized. The archpriest asked him: is it not out of poverty, or out of fear, that he is seeking baptism? In response to this, the Tatar said the following: “I was sick with my legs for 30 years, so I could not stand firmly on them. When the power of the Moscow Tsar became strong on our side, and with it the Christian God became known, I began to think: great is the God in whom Christians believe; He can give health to my sore legs; I will believe Him and be baptized with the whole house. And suddenly, on the very day of my determination, my legs became healthy. And so I came to fulfill my promise. Please, baptize me." The archpriest told him: “By your faith, the Lord Jesus gave you health, you see His grace on you; If you want to receive eternal life, nothing prevents you from being baptized. Just be careful not to return like a dog to its vomit; be firm against deception and against persecution from the infidels; a Christian must endure many sorrows to reach the Kingdom of Heaven.” The Tatar tore a tuft out of his beard and, tearing it into small pieces, said: “I am so convinced of the power and goodness of your God, of the superiority of your faith, that I am not only ready to endure sorrow, but if they tore me into pieces, as I tore my hair, then I will not renounce your God.” After that, he was announced in the faith and baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, with the name Stephen. After a little time, their own people rebelled against him and for a long time forced him, either with admonitions or threats, to retreat from the Christian faith. Stefan, firm in faith, not only did not want to follow their convictions, but on the contrary, he denounced the wickedness of their faith and boldly preached the name of Christ. The wicked, impatient to hear his preaching, attacked him with weapons, chopped his body into pieces, scattered his bones, and plundered his house. Thus died the servant of God Stephen, who suffered for the name of Christ 230. “When Sheikh-Aliy, appointed Tsar of Kazan by the will of Tsar John, retired from Kazan to Sviyazhsk (this was in 1552) 231, and many of the people of Sheikh-Aliy and Tsar John, not having time to leave Kazan in time, were detained in the city in captivity, then among the latter the Kazan people recognized one newly baptized Tatar. His father and mother, brothers, sisters and many acquaintances from their tribe were found. They took him into their home; his father and mother began to call him their son, and his relatives - a relative, and everyone called him by his Tatar name. But the newly baptized person renounced all his relatives and said: I have a mother and relatives - only the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; I despise your unclean faith and your Mohammed; my name is Peter. They tried for a long time, both with affection and fear, to divert him from the holy Christian faith, but they did not have time; Finally, a whole crowd attacked him and killed him, while he repeated one thing: I am a Christian. This newly baptized Peter was buried in the very place where the Church of the Resurrection of Christ now stands, which is at the living market 232. This is what Rev. wrote in his report. To Job, blessed Hermogenes, Archbishop of Kazan. - In the RKP. The calendar says: “the holy great martyrs and new sufferers Peter and Stephen suffered from the Kazan Tatars, who were killed on the 24th day of March.” Holy Hieromartyr Parthenius, Patriarch of Constantinople, nicknamed Parthenaki Born into a pious family on the island of Mytilene, Parthenius, distinguished from childhood by his curiosity and zeal for scientific pursuits, achieved a remarkable education. He mainly studied St. Scripture and was generally distinguished by his piety. Taking into account his spiritual mood, he was first made a church reader, then passed the degrees of deacon, priest, and after the death of the Bishop of Chio, he was elevated to the episcopal see. In 1657, members of the Synod of Constantinople unanimously elected Parthenius to the patriarchal throne. But it did not take long for this lamp to shine for the common good: the crown of martyrdom worthily crowned his high pastoral activity. It happened at this time that the Crimean Khan sent his ambassador to the Cossack hetman with important instructions. The ambassador met at the hetman with the former Metropolitan of Nicea, who enjoyed great honor and influence there. This aroused the suspicion of the Khan's ambassador; Having returned, he informed the khan of his assumptions that the metropolitan had been sent by the Patriarch of Constantinople for purposes hostile to Turkey... The khan reported this news to the vizier, who summoned the patriarch to him for an explanation. After a thorough examination of the case, of course, there was no alleged treason and betrayal, but to cover up the khan’s lies and to ward off suspicion of partiality, the vizier decided to sacrifice the ruler and handed him over as a state traitor to the mayor for execution of the death sentence. At the same time, the vizier gave a secret order to let the saint live if, in order to testify to his devotion to Turkey, he agreed to become a Muslim... In fulfillment of this order, the mayor invited the Orthodox patriarch to convert to Islamism, adding to this the promise of all kinds of honors. “I am not a traitor to the state and am not involved in any ambitious plans,” Parthenius answered him, “you will see this for yourself if you wish to reveal the truth.” As for your proposal that I accept Islamism, I am ready to die rather than renounce my faith. Christ alone is my joy and my refuge! Seeing the futility of the influence of brilliant promises, the mayor hoped to have a better effect on the saint with cruel tortures, but he was mistaken in this calculation too... With unshakable patience the martyr endured all the torments; courageously accepting serious wounds, he only thanked God that he was worthy to suffer for the sake of His holy name and prayed to Him to strengthen him to the end... After all the torment, the patriarch was hanged in Parmakkani, on Lazarus Saturday, 1657. Meletius, Bishop of Sigiriya, wrote about the martyrdom of the blessed Patriarch Parthenius. Dositheos mentions him in his book about the patriarchs of Jerusalem and Meletius in the third volume of his church history. According to Nikon. years. (7, 107. 129) Arkhangelsk Archpriest Timothy, “a distinguished man and trained in the Inspired Scripture, was sent to Sviyazhsk with a message from M. Macarius to the army and with verbal instructions on matters of faith. Also according to the royal book, pp. 210-217. Degree. book 2, 265. 266. In the printed “history of the Kazan kingdom,” ed. St. Petersburg 1791 The martyr is named Alexander, but this is a publishing error: in the RKP. history he is named Stephen. Charter of Hermogenes ex. in the West Kazan. University, book. 4, pp. 157–159. K. 1839 and in the description. Zilantova Mon. Kazan 1840