Страдание святой мученицы Агафии

During the reign of the evil Decius in 1197, at a time when Quintianus, appointed by him, was the ruler of Sicily in 1198, a godless command was sent throughout all countries to put all Christians to death. At that time, in the city of Panorma 1199 there lived a girl named Agathia, the daughter of noble and wealthy parents, raised in Christian piety. Hearing about the godless command of the persecutors regarding the beating of Christians, Agathia was inflamed with zeal for Christ her Lord, to whom she was dismayed by the purity of her virginity. She abandoned love for her fatherland and, considering the dignity of her high family as nothing and despising the wealth left to her by her parents and all the glory of this world, she began to prepare for suffering for Christ. Hegemon Quintian, hearing about the beauty, nobility and wealth of this holy maiden, was inflamed with an unclean passion for her and thought of seeing her and inclining her to his criminal lust, and together taking possession of her estate. Having learned that she believed in Christ, he immediately sent soldiers from the city of Katana 1200 to Panormus to bring the saint to trial as a Christian. The messengers, having come to Saint Agathia, wanted to take her, and promised to deliver her with honor to their commander if she gave her word to worship their gods. Having asked them to wait a little, Agathia entered the upper room inside the house and, shutting herself in it, raised her hands to the sky and began to pray, saying: - Lord Jesus Christ! You know my heart and the disposition of my soul, love and faith in You! Be my leader and helper against the enemy, whom I have already trampled and killed in You, my God. And now, Master, I pray to You, do not allow an all-nasty and all-evil man, a servant of demons, to desecrate my body, in which I have lived purely and honestly until now; hasten and hasten to defeat the devil and his servant Quintian, so that he does not say: “Where is her God?” (cf. Ps. 78:10) Accept my tears as a sacrifice and offering into the stench of fragrance, for You alone are God and glory is due to You forever. Amen. Having prayed thus, she left the city with the soldiers, accompanied by some citizens, neighbors and acquaintances; She walked with full readiness to courageously stand up for her Lord, like an indestructible wall; and thought to herself: “So at first I had a battle with the devil, trying to keep my virginity in purity and overcome my carnal passions, which I defeated with the help of the grace of my Christ, and trampled on the enemy, fighting through passions and lusts against people; Now I am going to the second battle, in which I must lay down my soul for Christ. But, devil, you will not rejoice through me, but you will be more ashamed yourself: for I hope in Christ my God, that He will look from on high at my feat with many of His holy Angels and help me when I am weak.” Thinking like this within herself, she washed her face with hot tears. As she continued on her way, the strap of her sandal came loose; To tie it, she put her foot on a stone and looked around, and she no longer saw any of the neighbors who saw her off: everyone left her and returned back. Therefore, she shed even more tears and turned to God in prayer, saying: - Almighty Lord, for the sake of my citizens who did not believe me that I want to suffer for Your holy name, show some miracle in this place! And then immediately a wild, barren olive tree grew, representing the wild minds of the citizens of Panorm. When Saint Agathia arrived in the city of Katana, the military commander ordered her to be placed in the house of a rich woman named Aphrodisia. She had five young daughters, whom he ordered, with the help of his affectionate speeches and various pleasures, to seduce Agathia’s mind to carnal love and persuade her to make sacrifices to the gods. They, either praising and extolling her and expressing many promises, or through threats, tried to persuade Agathia to fulfill the will of Quintian, but had no success: neither in word nor in deed could they turn her away from Divine love to worldly love. They decorated her with expensive clothes, offered gifts and various expensive foods and treats, staged performances and dances with musicians playing, and did all sorts of outrages and ridiculous things before her eyes. But she, not wanting to even look at all this, said: - Let it be known to you that my mind and thoughts are set on stone and cannot be turned away from the love of Christ: your flattering words are like the wind, and the provision of worldly joys is nothing more than rain; and your threats are rivers that, although they will flow to my church, will not be able to move it, for it stands on a solid foundation, as if on a rock, which is Christ the Son of the Living God. Saying this, she poured streams of tears over her chest: for as a deer seeks sources of water (cf. Ps. 41:2), so she sought to suffer for her Lord. Aphrodisia, seeing the firmness and steadfastness of Agathia’s heart, went to the military leader Kintian and said to him: “It’s more likely to crush a stone and turn iron into tin than to convince and turn this girl away from Christ; I myself and my daughters spent days and nights only exhorting her to be of the same mind with us - sometimes with caresses and requests, sometimes with threats: I placed rare necklaces and monistas, expensive clothes, gold and precious stones in front of her face, gave her slaves as gifts and my villages, but she despises all this, like dust trampled under foot. Then the angry military leader Quintian ordered Agathia to be brought to his secret chamber; here, sitting in his place, he, filled with unclean thoughts, asked the girl what kind of girl she was. Saint Agathia answered: “I am of noble birth and have noble and wealthy relatives. - If you are of a noble family, then why do you wear poor clothes, like some slave? “I am Christ’s servant,” answered the saint, “and therefore I wear the image of a slave.” - How do you call yourself a slave, being free, as the daughter of noble parents? “Our nobility and freedom lie in this,” answered the saint, “to work for Christ.” – Are we really not free, who do not work for your Christ and deny Him? “You are in such captivity and slavery that you have not only become slaves to sin, but also worshipers of vile and insensitive idols, considering wood and stone to be God. “If you utter such blasphemies,” Quintian told her, “you will be given over to many torments; but tell me, why do you deny our gods? “That’s why I deny them,” answered Agathia, “because they are not gods, but demons, whose images you make from copper and marble, covering their faces with gold.” “Listen to good advice, maiden, and make sacrifices so as not to experience various torments and bring dishonor and reproach to your noble origin, after which you, although against your will, will have to bow to the gods, the rulers of the universe.” - Let your wife be like Aphrodite 1201, your goddess; and you yourself be like Zeus 1202 your god. When the saint said this, Quintian ordered to hit her in the face and said: - Don't insult the commander. Saint Agathia replied: -Where is your mind, military leader? I wish for you to be like your god, but you do not want to be like him and you yourself are ashamed of your gods: therefore, together with me, renounce them. “You deserve a lot of torment, to which I will immediately hand you over if you do not do what you are ordered.” “I’m not afraid of anything,” answered the girl; - if you give me to be eaten by beasts, then the beasts, seeing me and hearing the name of Christ, will be tamed; if you throw me into the fire, then the angels from heaven will cool me with dew; if you cause me wounds and torment, I have the Spirit of truth to help me, who will deliver me from your hand. After this, the military leader ordered Agathia to be taken to a gloomy and stinking prison; The saint went there as if to a feast and merrymaking, commending herself to her Lord. In the morning, Quintian, again summoning Saint Agathia to court, asked her whether she had thought enough about her health. Saint Agathia answered: – My health is Christ. - Deny Christ so as not to perish in your youth. “Renounce your gods,” answered the saint, “who are nothing more than stone and wood, and approach the true God who created you, so as not to subject you to eternal torment.” Then the angry tormentor ordered Agathia to be hanged naked on a tree and beaten. When the saint was being beaten, the torturer said to her: “Change your thoughts and worship the gods so that you can stay alive.” “With these torments I gain bliss for myself and I rejoice among them in the same way as one who has acquired great treasures rejoices: these temporary torments are useful to me.” Just as wheat is not gathered into the barn without clearing it of the chaff, so it is impossible for my soul to enter heaven unless my body is first tormented by torment. The military leader ordered the servants to torture Agathia more, then ordered her to tear her nipples with iron pincers and cut them off. When this was being done, the martyr said to the military commander: - Godless and inhuman torturer! You are not ashamed to cut off a woman’s breasts, with which you yourself fed from your mother; but I have other breasts in my soul, which you cannot touch, for they have been dedicated to God from youth. After this, the saint was thrown into prison. At midnight, the holy Apostle Peter appeared to her, in the form of a splendid old man, carrying in his hands many healing remedies for her; he was preceded by a beautiful young man with a burning candle; The saint thought that some doctor had come. The Apostle told her: “The wicked tormentor, although he tormented you with wounds, had no success; on the contrary, you defeated him with your courage; he ordered not only to torment your breasts, but also to cut them off: for this his soul will suffer forever. While you were suffering, I stood and looked, and thought that it was possible to heal your breasts, for which I came here. The Holy Martyr Agathia answered: – I have never used any healing for my body; I think that even now one should not violate this good custom, learned from youth. “After all, I am a Christian,” said the elder, “and I came hoping to heal you; so don't be ashamed of me. “You are a man, and I am a girl, how can I expose my body to you without shame?” I would rather suffer the pain of my wounds than wish to be naked before the eyes of a man. I thank you, honest father, that you came here with the intention of healing my ulcers; but know that healing from human hands will never touch my body. - Why don’t you want me to heal you? – I have my Lord Jesus Christ, who with one wave heals everything and with one word restores the fallen; He, if He wishes, can heal me, His unworthy servant. The Apostle was delighted by such great faith of the holy martyr and, with a smile, said to her: - He sent me to you, girl, for I am His Apostle: look - you are healed. Having said this, he became invisible. Then the holy martyr Agathia, having learned who had appeared to her, thanked God, saying: “I thank You, my Lord Jesus Christ, for remembering me and sending His apostle to heal me.” Looking at her body, she saw her breasts intact and her wounds healed; and all night long an extraordinary light filled the prison, illuminating it; Frightened by this, the soldiers fled and left the dungeon unlocked. Other prisoners who were there, seeing this, said to the saint: - The doors are open, and no one is guarding them: get out and run. “I don’t want to lose my martyr’s crown,” answered Agathia, “and bring trouble to the guards; Having my Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, as my helper, who healed me, I will remain here to the end, confessing Him. After four days, on the fifth, the tormentor again sat down at the trial and, calling Saint Agathia to him, said to her: - How long will you resist the royal command? Make sacrifices to the gods, otherwise you will be given up to the most cruel death. “Your words are vain and the commandment of your king is unjust, which defiles the very air; tell me, cursed and mad, who seeks help from wood and insensitive stone? I offer a sacrifice of praise to Him, Who healed my breasts and healed my body. The torturer ordered her nipples to be opened and, seeing them whole and unharmed, as they were before, he asked: – Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God. – You again call Christ, about whom I don’t even want to hear! And he ordered to pour sharp tiles kindled in the fire on the ground, and sprinkle them with hot coals, and throw the naked saint on them, burn and torment. As this was being performed, an earthquake suddenly began not only near that place, but throughout the entire city; the earth spread out and swallowed up Kintianov’s friend Vultey and his friend Theophilus, on whose advice Kintian carried out such torment. All the citizens, frightened by the earthquake, ran to Quintianus in the praetorium, shouting at him to stop torturing the innocent maiden for whose sake the earthquake had occurred. Quintian, frightened by the earthquake and popular indignation, ordered the saint to be taken to prison. The martyr, having arrived in prison, raised her hands to heaven and said: “I thank You, Lord, that You have made me worthy to suffer for Your holy name and, having destroyed in me the desire for temporary life, have given me patience. Hear, O Lord, me at this hour and grant me favor, so that I leave this world and move on to Your rich and great mercy. Having prayed like this, she gave up her spirit into the hands of God 1203. Having learned about this, the citizens hastened to come, and taking her holy body, they carried her with honor for burial. Suddenly, a beautiful young man, who was not known to anyone in the city, approached the body of the holy martyr; with him were a hundred beautiful youths. Having escorted the body of the holy martyr to the burial place, he placed her stone tablet in the coffin, on which was the inscription: – Immaculate mind, voluntary sacrifice to God and the fatherland, deliverance. Having placed a tablet with such an inscription at the head of the holy martyr, the young man immediately became invisible; and everyone understood that it was the Angel of God. After this, the governor Quintian, taking his soldiers, went to the city of Panormus to take the wealth of the holy martyr Agathia and appropriate all her property for himself. On the way, he had to cross one deep river. He and his horses boarded the ferry and sailed across the river. The horses suddenly went berserk at him, and one gnawed his face with his teeth and disfigured everything, and the other began to kick him and beat him until he threw him into the river, in which he drowned, ending his evil life with an evil death. They searched for his body for a long time, but did not find it: it died along with his soul. After this, none of the royal rulers dared to offend the relatives of Saint Agathia. The fame of her spread everywhere, and a church was built over her relics; the clothes the saint wore were placed on her coffin to remind her of her humility 1204. A year after the death of the holy martyr Agathia, Mount Etna 1205, near the city of Catana, began to erupt with fiery lava, which flowed from an opening on the mountain like a huge river, with a strong noise, throwing down melted stones from above like wax. The inhabitants of Katana were in great fear, fearing for the destruction of their city. Then not only Christians, but also infidels - everyone gathered at the church of the holy martyr Agathia, took her clothes, stood against the fire rushing towards the city, and with these clothes, as if with a shield, they defended themselves from the destructive and formidable flame. The fire, as if ashamed of the clothes of the holy martyr, returned and went out. At the sight of this miracle, the residents rejoiced greatly, praised God and glorified the holy martyr Agathia. This miracle happened on the fifth day of February, on which the holy martyr suffered for Christ her Lord, to whom be glory forever. Amen. May the Church be adorned today with glorious purple, dipped in the pure blood of Agathia the Martyr: Rejoice, crying out, Catanian praise. Decius reigned from 249 to 251. Sicily is one of the large islands of the Mediterranean Sea, near the Apennine Peninsula. Panorm (now Palermo) is located on the northern coast of the island of Sicily on the bay of the same name; This is a very ancient and significant city, founded by the Phoenicians. Catana, an ancient city on the eastern coast of Sicily, is now a populous city, flourishing in education and commerce, with a population of more than 100,000. Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love and beauty. Celebrations in her honor were accompanied by manifestations of extreme licentiousness and debauchery. Zeus was revered by the Greeks as the main deity, the father of all gods and people. Greek myths attribute various carnal vices, unclean passions and crimes to Zeus. Saint Agathia died in 251. The relics of Saint Agathia were transferred to Constantinople in 1040, but in 1126 they were returned to Catana. Etna is a fire-breathing mountain on the island of Sicily, near the city of Catana. You might be interested in: