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In memory of the holy Maccabee martyrs What can we say about the Maccabees? The real meeting is for them. And although few honor them, because they did not labor after Christ; however, they are worthy to be honored by everyone, because they suffered for the laws of their fathers. Having become martyrs before Christ's suffering, what would they not have done if they had been persecuted after Christ and become imitators of His death for us? And without such an example, having shown so much valor, would they not have turned out to be even more courageous if they had suffered, looking at the example of Christ? But there is also a mysterious and hidden teaching (very probable for me and for every God-loving soul), according to which of those who achieved perfection before the coming of Christ, none achieved this without faith in Christ. For the Word, although it was clearly revealed later, at a certain time, was known to pure minds before, as many glorified before Christ show. Why shouldn’t the Maccabees be humiliated because they suffered before the Cross. But since they suffered according to the law of the cross, they are worthy of praise and should be honored with a word, honored not so that their own glory will increase (will a word add glory to those whose deeds are glorious?), but so that those who praise them will become glorified and those who hear them will be jealous of their virtues, in the memory of them finding for themselves an incentive to equal exploits. Who and where were the Maccabees, whose leadership and instruction, using at first, achieved such valor and glory that they are honored by these annual celebrations and meetings, and that for them in the soul of each there is a glory that is higher than visible glorification - all this will be shown for curious and hardworking people by the book written about the Maccabees 96, which, philosophizing that reason is the autocrat over the passions and the master of inclinations to both, that is, to virtue and vice, as proof of this, among numerous other testimonies, the exploits of the Maccabees lead. But for me it will be enough to say the following. Here Eleazar is the first of those who suffered before Christ (like Stephen is the first of those who suffered after Christ), a priest and an elder, gray-haired, gray-haired and wise, who first offered sacrifices and prayers for the people, and now offers himself to God as the most perfect sacrifice, for the purification of the entire people. A blessed beginning of a feat! together both loud and silent edification! But he also brings seven young men - the fruit of his own instructions, “a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God” (Rom. 12:1), a sacrifice that is more glorious and purer than any legal ritual. For to impute the valor of sons to the father is the most lawful and just thing. There are sons there, courageous and great in spirit, noble branches of a noble mother, zealous ascetics for the truth, worthy of the times not of Antiochus, true disciples of the Mosaic Law, precise guardians of domestic morals, constituting one of the numbers respected by the Jews - a number distinguished by the sacrament of seven days of rest, they breathe one thing, they have one thing in mind, they know one way of life - to die for God! They are as much brothers in soul as in flesh, jealous of each other in the desire for death (a wondrous sight!); like treasures, they anticipate one another’s torments, they stand firmly for the mentor, that is, for the law, they are not so much afraid of the torments prepared for them as they desire those they have not yet seen; They fear only one thing, lest the tormentor stop the torture, lest one of them remain uncrowned, be involuntarily separated from his brothers, and become a bad winner, unfortunately avoiding suffering. There, the mother is cheerful and courageous, at the same time child-loving and God-loving, suffering in her mother’s heart torments that are incredible by nature. She does not regret her suffering sons, but is tormented by the fear that her sons will not suffer; does not grieve so much for those who have departed as he wishes for those who remained to join them; she has more concern for the latter than for those who have passed away; because some still have a doubtful struggle ahead, while others have been rendered safe by death; some she has already entrusted to God, others she is still worried about how God will accept them. What a courageous soul in a female body! What wonderful and generous zeal! Truly - Abraham's sacrifice, and, if it is not bold to say, Even greater than Abraham's! Abraham willingly brings one son, indeed, the only begotten, born according to the promise, the son for whom the promise was given and (more importantly) who was appointed to be the firstfruits and root not only of the clan, but also of similar sacrifices; she sanctified to God a whole nation of sons; She surpassed both mothers and priests in the number of victims ready for the slaughter of burnt offerings, smart sacred offerings, hastening to the altar. She pointed to the chest, reminded of nutrition, was evidenced by gray hair, used old age to intercede for her petitions, not in order to save children from death, but to induce them to suffer; because she considered it not death to be a danger for them, but the delay of death. Nothing shook her, nothing relaxed her, did not deprive her of joy: neither the prepared wooden racks, nor the placed wheels, nor the blocks, nor the scaffolding, nor the sharpness of iron claws, nor sophisticated swords, nor boiling cauldrons, nor the kindled fire, nor the formidable tormentor, nor the crowd of people, nor the surrounding military guard, nor the upcoming fellow tribesmen, nor the dismemberment of members, nor the torment of the flesh, nor streams of flowing blood, nor ruined youth, nor real horrors, nor expected suffering. And what is most difficult for others in such cases, that is, the duration of the disaster, was easiest for her. She enjoyed the spectacle, no matter how long the suffering lasted, not only from the variety of tortures used (which all affected her less than one torture would have on another), but also because the persecutor experienced all kinds of speech - he scolded, he threatened, he caressed. For what means did he resort to to achieve what he wanted? But the responses of the young men to the tormentor, in my opinion, show so much wisdom and courage that just as the valor of others taken together is small in comparison with their patience, so patience itself is small in comparison with their prudent speeches. And it was only natural for them to suffer so much and to respond with such philosophy to the threats of the tormentor, to everything with which they were frightened, and that in no way overcame either the courageous sons or the even more courageous mother. She, having become higher than everyone else and uniting the strength of spirit with motherly love, offers herself as a wonderful funeral gift to the children; and she herself will follow those who went before her. And how? She voluntarily goes to suffer, not even allowing an unclean body to touch her pure and courageous flesh. And what funeral words she pronounces! Beautiful, even the most beautiful of the beautiful, were the sons’ responses to the tormentor. For weren’t those words beautiful, armed with which they overthrew the tormentor? But even more beautiful are the mother’s speeches, first exhorting, and then funeral. So, what did the sons say? Now it is very timely to renew this in your memory, so that you have from these times an example of both asceticism and martyrdom. Each of the brothers said something different, but the words of the persecutor, the turn of suffering and spiritual jealousy attacked him. But if all their speeches are brought into one, then they said this: “Antiochus, and all of you who are coming here! We have one king - God, from whom we received our being and to whom we will return; one legislator is Moses, whom (we swear by the disasters that he endured for his virtue, and by his many miracles) we will not betray and will not dishonor, even if threatened by another Antiochus, who is fiercer than you. For us, the only safe refuge is to keep the commandments and not break the law, which protects us as truth. We have one glory - for the glory of our law to despise all glory; one wealth is the blessings we hope for. But there is nothing terrible for us, except for one thing - to fear something more than God. With such thoughts and with such weapons we go to battle; These are the kind of young men you deal with. Although we desire this world, and our native land, and friends, and relatives, and peers, and this great and glorious church, and paternal holidays, and the sacraments, and everything in which we place our advantage over other peoples, we do not desire more than God and suffering for a good deed. No, don't even think about it! For for us there is another world, which is higher and more permanent than the visible. Our fatherland is the heavenly Jerusalem, which no Antiochus would dare to keep under siege and would not hope to take; He is so strong and invincible! Our kinship is God's inspiration and all those born of valor. Our friends are prophets and patriarchs who serve as models of piety for us. Our peers are all now in poverty and contemporary with us in patience. And our church is a magnificent sky; and our celebration is the standing of the Angels. We have one great, even greatest, and for many hidden sacrament - God, Who is the goal of these sacraments. So, do not deceive us anymore with promises of things of little importance and worth nothing. What is dishonest will not give us honor; harmful things will not enrich us; We will not dare to make such a pitiful purchase. Stop your threats; otherwise, we ourselves will begin to threaten you in order to expose your powerlessness and show what kind of executions we have prepared for you. For we also have fire with which we torment the persecutors. Don't you think that you are fighting with peoples, cities and the most effeminate kings, some of whom will gain the upper hand, while others, perhaps, will remain defeated, because for them there is no such danger? You are rebelling against God’s law, against the well-written tablets, against our paternal decrees, which have gained importance both due to their high significance and due to their longevity, you are rebelling against seven brothers who live as if by one soul and will disgrace you with seven victorious monuments. It is not important to defeat them; but it is a great shame to be defeated by them! We are the descendants and disciples of those who were guided by a pillar of fire and cloud, for whom the sea parted, the river became, the sun stood still, the rain was bread, the raising of hands put thousands of enemies to flight, overthrowing them with prayer, before whom animals were tamed, unto whom fire did not touch, whose courage kings marveled and yielded. Let’s say something that you yourself know: we are disciples of Eleazar, whose courage you have experienced. First the father accomplished his feat, now the children join the fight; The priest has already left, and the victims will follow him. You are intimidating to many, but we are ready for even more. And what will you do to us with your threats, proud man? What harm will you do to us? No one is stronger than someone who is ready to endure all suffering. Why are people delaying? Why don't they get down to business? Why wait for a merciful command? Where are the swords? Where are the shackles? Let them make more fire, release the strongest animals, prepare the most excellent instruments of torment, so that everything will be royal and costly! - I am the firstborn; Sacrifice me first. - I am the last of the brothers, it is better to change the order. - No, let one of the middle ones become the first victim, so that we all will be honored equally. But you are forgiving and expect us to change our thoughts. Again, and more than once, we repeat the same word to you: we will not taste unclean things, we will not express our consent; You will sooner respect our decrees than we submit to yours; in short: either invent new executions, or make sure that we despise the ones you have prepared for us.” This is what the brothers said to the tormentor; and how they convinced each other! and what a spectacle they were - truly beautiful and sacred! For God-loving souls it is more pleasant than anything that can be seen or heard. I myself, at the mere memory, am filled with pleasure, mentally contemplate the ascetics before me and enjoy the story of them. They hugged and kissed each other; A holiday began for them, as if after they had already accomplished their feats. “Come on, brothers,” they cried, “let’s go, let’s hasten to the torment while the tormentor still burns with anger at us, so that we do not lose salvation if he relents. The feast is ready; Let's not deprive ourselves of it. It is wonderful to see brothers who live “together” (Ps. 132:1), have fun together and serve as each other’s shield, but it is even more beautiful if they suffer together in poverty for virtue. If it were possible to fight for paternal decrees with arms in hand, even in this case death would be commendable. But since this is not what circumstances require, we will sacrifice the bodies themselves. Why not sacrifice them? If we don’t die now, will we never die? Will we never give nature its due? It is better to turn into a gift what must be given up out of necessity: we will outwit death; Let us turn what is common to all into our own property and at the price of death we will buy life. Let not one of us be life-loving or timid. Let the tormentor, having stumbled over us, despair of others. Let him himself determine the order of who will suffer after whom; even if someone joins the ranks of the persecuted, this will not make a difference in the fervor of our zeal. Let the first of those who suffered be a path for others, and the last one a seal of achievement. Let us put everything on our hearts with equal firmness, so that the whole house can buy us crowns, so that the persecutor does not have a single share in us and cannot, in the boiling of anger, boast of victory over everyone, having defeated one. Let us prove that we are brothers to each other not only by birth, but also in death itself; Let us all suffer as one, and let each of us suffer equally. Accept us, Eleazar, follow us, mother; bury your dead Jerusalem magnificently, if only there is anything left for the coffin; tell future generations about us and show your admirers the sacred burial place of the same womb.” This is how they spoke and acted, this is how they encouraged each other according to their seniority, just as a boar sharpens one tooth with another. They all maintained the same zeal, to the pleasure and surprise of their fellow tribesmen, to the fear and horror of their enemies. And although the enemies boldly took up arms against an entire people, they were so humiliated by the unanimity of the seven brothers struggling for piety that they lost the pleasant hope of defeating the others. And the courageous and truly worthy mother of such valiant sons, this great and high-spirited nurse of the law, torn by two strong movements of the heart, felt in herself a mixture of both joy and fear - joy, because of the courage of her sons and everything visible to her - fear, because of the unknown of the future and because of excessive torment. And like a bird that sees a snake crawling towards the chicks or someone else who is plotting against them, she flew around, beat her wings, begged, shared the suffering of the children. And whatever she said, whatever she did, to inspire them to victory! Either she stole drops of blood, then she picked up the rejected parts of members, then she reverently fell to the remains; She collected the members of one son, gave the other to the tormentors, and prepared the third for heroic deeds. She exclaimed to everyone: “Wonderful, children! Wonderful, my valiant ascetics, almost ethereal in the flesh, defenders of the law of my gray hair and the holy city that raised you and raised you to such a height of valor! A little more; and we won! The torturers are tired - that’s all I’m afraid of. A little more; and I am the blessed one of mothers, and you are the blessed one of youths! But do you feel sorry to be separated from your mother? I'm not leaving you; I promise you this. I am not a hater of my children.” When she saw that everyone had ended their lives and by their death had freed her from worries, then with a bright gaze she raised her head and, like an Olympic winner, raising her hands with a cheerful spirit, loudly and solemnly said: “Thank you, Holy Father! Thank you, our mentor is the law! Thank you, our father and champion of your children, Eleazar! Thank you that the fruit of my illnesses was accepted, and I became a mother, the most sacred of mothers! I have nothing left for the world; everything is given to God - all my treasure, all the hopes of my old age. What a great honor for me! How wonderfully provided for my old age! Now I am rewarded for your upbringing, children, - I saw how you struggled for virtue, I was honored to see you all crowned; I even look at your torturers as benefactors; I am ready to testify my gratitude to the tormentor for this order, according to which I was kept for the last time to suffer, so that, having first brought to shame those born to me and having accomplished martyrdom in each of them, after making all the sacrifices, I could pass from here in complete safety. And I will not tear my hair, tear my clothes, torment my flesh with my nails, I will not provoke tears, call those who cry, be locked in dark solitude so that the very air mourns with me, I will not wait for comforters and offer the bread of sorrow. All this is appropriate for cowardly mothers, who are mothers only according to the flesh, whose children die without leaving a kind word behind them. And you, my dear children, did not die, but were offered as a gift to God; they were not separated from me forever, but only moved for a while; not scattered, but gathered together; It wasn’t a beast that kidnapped you, it wasn’t a wave that swallowed you up, it wasn’t a robber that destroyed you, it wasn’t a disease that crushed you, it wasn’t a war that destroyed you, and it wasn’t any other disaster that befell you that was more or less important to ordinary people. I would cry, even bitterly, cry if something like that happened to you. Then I would prove my love for children with my tears, as I prove now by not shedding tears. That's not enough. Then I would really begin to mourn you, when, to your own detriment, you were saved from torment, when the tormentors would triumph over you and defeat at least one of you, as the persecutors themselves have now been defeated by you. And what has happened now is praise, joy, glory, rejoicing and joy for those who remain. But I too am sacrificed after you. And I will be compared with Phinehas, glorified with Anna. Even more so, because Phinehas alone was jealous, and you appeared as numerous punishers of fornicators, striking down not carnal but spiritual fornication; and Anna dedicated to God one, God-given, and, moreover, recently born son; and I sanctified seven who matured, and who, moreover, sacrificed themselves voluntarily. May Jeremiah complete my funeral oration, not mourning, but praising the venerable death! You “were purer than snow,” whiter than “milk,” and your host became better than “coral” - born and offered as a gift to God (Lam. 4:7)! What else? Join me with the children, torturer, if mercy can be expected from enemies. Join me too - such a struggle will be more glorious for you. Oh, how I wished I could endure all the torments that they endured, so that my blood could mix with their blood and my old flesh with their flesh! For children, I love the very instruments of their suffering. But if this does not happen: at least let my ashes unite with their ashes, and let one coffin receive us! Do not envy the equal death of those who are equal in virtue. Goodbye mothers, goodbye children! And mothers raise those born to you this way, and raise children this way! We have given you an excellent example of how to fight the good fight.” So she said and kissed her sons. But how? – ask. - Like on a marriage bed, having ascended to the fire to which she was condemned. She did not wait for anyone to lift her up, she did not allow an unclean body to touch her pure and courageous flesh. Thus Eleazar enjoyed the priesthood; so he himself was consecrated and initiated others into the heavenly mysteries: not with external sprinklings, but with his own blood, he sanctified Israel and made the last day of life a perfect sacrament! Thus the sons enjoyed their youth; not servile to sensuality, but having gained control over the passions, they cleansed the body and surrendered to a passionless life! So the mother enjoyed having many children, was so adorned with her children during their lifetime, and passed away together with those who had departed! She presented those born for the world to God, by the number of their exploits she again calculated her birth illnesses, and learned the seniority of the children from the order in which they died; because everyone struggled, from the first to the last, and as wave follows wave, so one after another they showed valor, and one was more ready than the other to suffer, already strengthened by the example of the victims before him. And so the tormentor was glad that she was not the mother of more children; otherwise he would have remained even more disgraced and defeated. And then only for the first time did he learn that not everything can be overcome with a weapon, when he met unarmed young men who, armed only with piety, were ready to endure everything with greater zeal than with which he himself was prepared to subject them to suffering. Such a sacrifice was more prudent and greater than Jephthah’s; because here neither the ardor of the vow, nor the desire for an unexpected victory made the offering, as there, necessary; on the contrary, it was a completely voluntary sacrifice, and the reward for it was only hoped-for benefits. Such a feat is no lower than the exploits of Daniel, who was given over to be devoured by lions and defeated the beasts by raising his hands; he is not inferior to the courage of the youths in Assyria, whom an angel sprinkled with flame when they did not agree to break the father’s law and did not touch unclean and unconsecrated food. And in terms of zeal, it is no less important than those sacrifices that were subsequently made for Christ. For those who suffered for Christ, as I said at the beginning of the word, had the blood of Christ before their eyes, and their leader in their exploits was God himself, who brought such a great and wonderful gift for us; and the Maccabees did not have many or similar examples of valor before them. All Judea marveled at their patience; she rejoiced and triumphed, as if she herself had been crowned; because at the same time she too was faced with a feat, even the greatest of the feats that Jerusalem had ever faced - either to see on that day the trampling of the paternal law, or to become glorified. The fate of the entire Jewish family depended on the feat of the Maccabees and was, as it were, at the edge of a sword. Antiochus himself was amazed; so his threats turned into surprise; because even enemies know how to marvel at great feats, when the anger passes, and the deed justifies itself. Therefore, he left without receiving success, and, repenting a lot, praised his father Seleucus for his respect for the Jewish people and for his generosity to the church, so much he reproached Simon, who prompted the war, recognizing him as the culprit of inhumanity and dishonor. Let us imitate the Maccabees, priests, mothers, and children; priests - in honor of Eleazar, the spiritual father, who set an excellent example in both word and deed; mothers, in honor of the courageous mother, may they turn out to be truly loving of children, and may they present their children to Christ, so that the marriage itself will be sanctified by such a sacrifice; Let children honor the holy youths and let them devote the time of their youth not to shameful passions, but to the struggle against passions, to courageous struggle with our daily Antiochus, who fights through all our members and persecutes us in many different ways. For I wish that there would be ascetics for every time and occasion, from every race and age, subject to both obvious attacks and secret slander of enemies. I wish that they would use the ancient instructions, but also use the new ones, and like bees, collect from everywhere the most useful things into a single sweet honeycomb, so that both through the Old and through the New Testament God might be glorified in us, glorified in the Son and in the Spirit, knowing His own and known by those who are His, confessed and confessed, glorified and glorified in Christ Himself, to whom be glory forever. Amen. The work of Josephus under the title: Εις Εις Μακκαβαίες ή περι αυτοκράτορος λογισμε (“In honor of the Maccabees, or about the Autonomous Mind”). You might be interested in: