Страдание святого великомученика Феодора Стратилата

The wicked king Licinius 1260, having accepted the scepter after the wicked Maximian and imitating him in everything, immediately raised a great persecution against those who were distinguished by piety; He sent a decree about this wicked command to all cities and countries. At this time, many brave soldiers of Christ were killed: Licinius killed forty martyrs of Sebaste, also glorious warriors and princes of his chamber, and finally killed three hundred men from Macedonia. When the wicked Licinius saw that almost all Christians, despising his command, were betraying themselves to death for the holy faith, then he ordered to look for only the most famous and noble of them, that is, only those who were in his army or lived in cities, and only them he ordered (without paying attention to the multitude of ordinary people) to force them to idolatry; he hoped through fear to convince all those under his authority to remain faithful to idolatry. While everywhere they began to search with great diligence for the most famous Christians, Licinius, who was then in Nicomedia, learned that in Heraclea 1261, near the Black Sea, there lived a certain holy man named Theodore Stratilates, that he was a Christian and was converting many to Christ. Saint Theodore was from Euchaitis 1262, located near the city of Heracles; he was a brave and courageous man, very handsome in appearance; In addition, he was distinguished by his wisdom and great eloquence, so that he was called “prioritor,” that is, the most skillful orator 1263. By royal command, he was appointed stratilate, that is, commander, and the city of Heraclea was given under his control; with this he was rewarded for his bravery, which became known to everyone after he killed the serpent in Euchaites. Not far from the city of Euchait, to the north of it, there was a deserted field, and in it a large abyss, inside of which lived a huge serpent. When he came out of this abyss, the earth in that place shook; Having come out, he devoured everything that came his way, both man and beast. Hearing about this, the brave warrior of Christ, Saint Theodore, who was then still among the army, without telling anyone anything about his intention, went out alone against that fierce serpent. He took with him only his usual weapons, but on his chest he had a valuable cross. He said to himself: “I will go and deliver my fatherland by the power of Christ from this fierce serpent.” When he came to that field, he saw tall grass, got off his horse and lay down to rest. In this country there lived a certain pious wife named Eusevia. She was an elderly woman; several years before this, she, having asked for the honest body of Saint Theodore Tyrone, who suffered during the reign of Maximian and Maximin, buried him with spices in her house in Euchaites and celebrated his memory every year. This woman, seeing this second Theodore, a warrior of Christ, called stratilates, sleeping in this field, approached him with great fear, and, taking him by the hand, woke him up, saying: “Get up, brother, and quickly move away from this place: you don’t know that in this place many suffered a cruel death; So, get up quickly and go on your way. The honorable martyr of Christ Theodore stood up and said to her: “What kind of fear and horror are you talking about, mother?” The servant of God Eusevia answered him: “Child, a huge serpent has wound up in this place, and therefore no one can come here: every day this serpent, leaving his lair, finds someone - a man or an animal, and immediately kills him and devours him. The courageous warrior of Christ Theodore said to this: - Move away and stand away from this place, and you will see the power of my Christ. The woman, moving away from this place, threw herself to the ground, crying and saying: - God of Christians, help him at this hour! Then the holy martyr Theodore, having made the sign of the cross, struck himself on the chest and, looking up to heaven, began to pray like this: - Lord Jesus Christ, who shone forth from the Father's Being, who helped me in battles and gave victory in the opposing battles, - You are the same now, Lord Christ God: therefore, send me victory from Your holy height, that I may overcome this enemy - the serpent. Then, talking with his horse as if with a man, he said: – We know that God’s authority and power exist in everyone, both in people and in cattle, so help me, with the help of Christ, so that I can overcome the enemy. The horse, having listened to the words of his master, stopped, waiting for the appearance of the serpent. Then the martyr of Christ, approaching the abyss, cried out loudly to the serpent: “I tell you and command you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who was crucified voluntarily for the human race, come out of your lair and crawl to me.” The serpent, hearing the voice of the saint, moved, and immediately the earth in that place shook. Saint Theodore, having marked himself with the sign of the cross, mounted a horse, which, tormenting and trampling the emerging serpent, stood on it with all four hooves. Then the warrior of Christ Theodore struck the serpent with a sword and, killing him, said: “I thank You, Lord Jesus Christ, that You heard me at this hour and gave me victory over the serpent!” After this, he returned safely to his regiment, rejoicing and praising God. The citizens of Euchait and the surrounding residents, hearing about this, went out to that field and, seeing the serpent killed by Saint Theodore, were surprised and cried out: Then many of the people, and especially the soldiers, believed in Christ, and all of them, having been baptized, became one flock of Christ, glorifying the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. After this, Saint Theodore, living in Heraclea, preached Christ, the true God, and many of the pagans turned to Christ. Every day citizens gathered for baptism, and almost all of Heraclea accepted the holy faith. Hearing about all this, the wicked king Licinius was very upset and sent dignitaries with his bodyguards from Nicomedia, where he himself was then staying, to Heraclea, so that they, taking Theodore Stratelates, would bring him to him with honor. When they came to Heraclea, Saint Theodore received them with honor: he treated them and gave them each a gift, as if they were servants of the king. Then they began to call the saint to Licinius: “Go,” they said, “to Nicomedia, to the king who loves you so much; for he, having heard about your courage, about your beauty and wisdom, greatly desires to see you, intending to honor your valor with worthy honor and gifts. Saint Theodore answered them: “Let the king’s will and yours be done, just have fun and rejoice today, and tomorrow we will do what needs to be done.” Three days had already passed, and yet, despite the convictions of those sent that Saint Theodore should go with them to the king, he remained in his city. Then, leaving some of the sent royal men with him, Saint Theodore sent the rest to the king with a letter in which he said that he could not leave his city at a time when there was such great confusion among the people: for “many,” he wrote, “having abandoned the domestic gods, worship Christ, and almost the entire city, having turned away from the gods, glorifies Christ, and there is a danger that Heraclea will retreat from your kingdom”; “Therefore,” he continued, “work hard, king, and come here yourself, taking with you the statues of the more glorious gods - do this for two reasons: 1) to pacify the rebellious people and 2) to restore ancient piety; for when you yourself make sacrifices to them in front of all the people, then the people, seeing us worshiping the great gods, will begin to imitate us and will be confirmed in their native faith.” Saint Theodore wrote such a message to King Licinius, inciting him to come to Heraclea: the saint wanted to suffer in his city in order to sanctify it with his blood shed for Christ and with his suffering and courageous deed to confirm others in the holy faith. King Licinius accepted this letter from Stratelates and, after reading it, was delighted. Without hesitating at all, he, taking with him about eight thousand soldiers and the most noble of the Nicomedia citizens, joyfully set off with his princes and dignitaries to Heraclea; He took with him the idols of the gods more revered by the people - both gold and silver. That same night, when Saint Theodore, as usual, was praying, he had the following vision: it seemed to him that he was in a church, the roof of which opened up, and from there a heavenly light shone, as if from some great luminary, and illuminated his head; and then a voice was heard: - Dare, Theodore, I am with you! After this the vision stopped. Then Saint Theodore realized that the time had come for him to suffer for Christ and rejoiced, fiery in spirit. Hearing that the king was approaching the city, he entered his prayer room and prayed like this with tears: - Lord, God Almighty, who does not abandon all those who trust in Your mercy, but protects them, be merciful to me, and protect me by Your intercession from the deception of the enemy - may I not fall before my enemies and may my enemy not rejoice over me; appear to me, my Savior, during the feat ahead of me, which I so desire to bear for Your holy name; Strengthen and establish me and give me the strength to courageously, even to the point of bleeding, to stand up for You and lay down my soul for the sake of love for You, just as You, having loved us, laid down Your soul on the cross for us. Thus, having prayed with tears, Saint Theodore washed his face. Then, dressed in light clothes, he mounted his horse, on which he had once killed the serpent in the Euchaites, and together with his army and citizens went out to meet the king; As befits him, he bowed to him and, greeting him with respect, said: - Rejoice, most divine king, most powerful autocrat! The king also met Saint Theodore very kindly; he kissed him and said: - Rejoice, you too, most beautiful young man, brave warrior, glorious commander and like the bright sun, the wisest guardian of the fatherly laws and worthy diadem! It is fitting for you to be king after me. Conversing so kindly and cheerfully, they entered the city to the sound of tympanums and trumpets, and both joyfully lay down to rest that day. In the morning, when the royal throne was prepared on a high platform in the square in the middle of the city, King Licinius came with all his retinue and with Theodore Stratelates and, having sat on the throne, began to praise the city, its citizens and Saint Stratelates, saying: - Truly, this place is worthy to be called the throne of God: it should be considered another heaven for people; this city is great, and there are many inhabitants in it, and moreover, they are all pious and devoted to their gods. Truly, in no other place are our great gods so revered as here; and there is no more decent and convenient place to serve the great gods than this; that is why Hercules, this wonderful and most courageous god of ours, the son of the great god Dius and the goddess Alcmene 1264, loved this place and in his name called it the city of Heraclea; and truly, Theodore, it is worthy to become your possession: it is fitting for you to possess this wonderful city, and only you are worthy to rule such a people. After all, you honor our gods, and all your love is directed towards them; day and night you do nothing else but worry about pleasing the ancient Hellenic gods. Therefore, now show your love for them and make a sacrifice to them with worship, so that all the people will see your zeal for the gods and know that you are a sincere friend of the great gods and are pleasing to the king. Thus spoke Licinius, seducing and caressing the saint. Saint Theodore answered the king this way: - Be long-lived, king. May your will be done, just give me at home today the images of the great Hellenic gods that you took with you, both gold and silver, so that on this night and the next after it, first of all, I will honor them at my place, with sacrifices, incense, and aromas; and then, if you command, I will make sacrifices to them openly in front of all the people. The king, hearing this, was very happy. He immediately ordered to bring gold and silver idols. Saint Theodore, taking them with him, went home and there, at night, crushing them and breaking them into small parts, he distributed these parts to the poor. Two days later, the king sent to the saint, commanding that he fulfill his promise and that same day, in front of all the people, offer sacrifices to the gods. Theodore, promising to fulfill all this, went with haste to the king, and the king, together with him, went to the square, which was located in the middle of the city, and there, sitting on his throne, he said to Saint Theodore: - The wisest Theodore, a wonderful commander, venerable by the kings who came before us! The day of sacrifice and celebration has come. So, publicly offer sacrifices to the gods, so that all the inhabitants see your reverence for them and through this they would become even more diligent and zealous in their sacrifices. While the king was saying this, one of the centurions standing there, named Maxentius, said to him: “I swear by the great gods, king, you have now been deceived by this wicked Theodore.” For yesterday I saw the golden head of the goddess Artemis 1265 in the hands of a beggar who was walking and rejoicing. I asked: where did you find it? And he told me that Theodore Stratilates gave it to him. Hearing this, King Licinius shuddered and, perplexed, remained silent for a long time. Then Saint Theodore said to him: “This is what the power of Christ is for me: everything that Maxentius the centurion told you, king, is all true, and I did well by breaking your idols.” For if they could not help themselves, being crushed, then how can they give help to you? Licinius, having listened to such an answer from Saint Theodore, remained silent for some time, as if a man was mute and had lost his mind. Sitting in great sadness and leaning his head on his right hand, mourning and lamenting, he finally said: - Woe to me, woe to me! How insulted I am! And what I will say now, what I will do, I don’t know. Being the most powerful king and having gathered such a large number of warriors, I came to this unfortunate man, and now I am ridiculed by all my enemies, especially because this accursed one crushed my victorious gods and distributed them to the poor. Then, turning to the saint, he said: - Theodore, is this your reward to the gods for the gifts you received from them? Is this what I expected when I showered you with such great honors? And was it for this reason that I left Nicomedia and came to you today? O evil and vicious man! Truly, you are the son of deceit and the vile dwelling of wickedness, who by flattery forced me to come here. But, I swear to you by the power of my great gods, I will not tolerate this, and your cunning will not end well for you. - Mad king, why are you so angry? See for yourself and understand the power of your gods. If they were truly gods, then why didn’t they help themselves? Why weren’t they angry with me when I defeated them, and didn’t send fire from heaven to burn me? But they are soulless and powerless things that can be cut as easily by the hand of man as gold and silver. You, king, are angry and indignant, but your madness is funny to me. You are angry and furious, but I take courage and do not pay attention to your rage. You are sad, but I rejoice at the death of your gods. You persist in the Lord, and I bless Him. You blaspheme the true God, but I praise Him in songs. You worship dead gods, but I worship the Living God. You serve the vile Serapis 1266, and I serve my most pure and most honest Lord Christ, seated on the purest Seraphim. You honor the vile Apollo 1267, but I honor God who lives forever. You are a Thracian coal 1268, I am a Roman prince; - you are Licinius - a fan, but I am Theodore - a gift of God 1269. So, king, do not be angry and do not be furious; by doing this, you only show your inner torment and become like a donkey or some kind of mule. Then the Licinian king, becoming even more angry, ordered the naked saint to be spread out in the shape of a cross and beaten hard with raw ox sinews. And the soldiers beat the holy martyr without mercy, changing among themselves, so that they beat him sometimes in threes, sometimes in fours, and at that time Saint Theodore was given six hundred blows on the back and five hundred on the belly. King Licinius mocked him, saying: - Theodore, be patient a little until Christ your God comes to you, Who will free you from the hands of the tormentor. - Do with me what you want, and don’t stop: for neither sorrow, nor oppression, nor wounds, nor sword, nor any other torment will separate me from the love of Christ. Then the king, inflamed with even greater rage, said: – Do you still confess Christ? And he ordered again to beat the holy martyr on the back without mercy with tin rods, and then to whittle his body with iron claws and scorch him with burning candles, and to rub his wounds with sharp shards. The saint, enduring all this courageously, did not say anything else except: “Glory to Thee, my God!” After all these torments, the king ordered Saint Theodore to be imprisoned, his legs tied with shackles and no food given to him for five days. After five days, he ordered a cross to be prepared and the saint crucified on it. And so, just as Christ our Lord had once been by Pilate, so now Saint Theodore was crucified by Licinius on the cross, and his hands and feet were nailed. But the cruel tormentors tried to further increase the suffering and torment of the saint. They drove a sharp and long nail into him and cut his body with razors; the youths and youths strained their bows and shot at his face, so that the apples of his eyes were pierced by arrows. “I,” says the describer of his suffering, “notary 1270 Uar,” seeing all these terrible torments and as if hearing his inner suffering groans, threw the book in which I wrote it all down, and, throwing myself down crying at his feet, said: - Bless me, my lord, bless me! Tell me, your servant, the last word! My master, the warrior of Christ Theodore, said to me in a quiet voice: - Uar, do not leave your service and do not stop looking at my suffering; describe them, describe my death and mark its day. Then, calling on the Lord, the saint said: - Lord, You told me before: I am with you. Why have you left me now? Look, Lord, how wild animals tormented me all because of You: the apples of my eyes are pierced, my body is crushed from wounds, my face is wounded, my teeth are crushed; only naked bones hang on the cross; Remember me, Lord, who endured the cross for Your sake: because of You I endured iron, and fire, and nails; now receive my spirit, for I am already departing from this life. Indeed, Theodore’s entire body was tormented. Licinius, thinking that the martyr had died, left him hanging on the cross. But then, on the first watch of the night, the Angel of the Lord took the holy martyr down from the cross and created him whole and healthy, as he had been before; welcoming him, the Angel said to him: – Rejoice and be strengthened by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, behold, the Lord is with you; why did you say that He left you? So, complete your feat to the end, and you will come to the Lord to receive the crown of immortality prepared for you. Having said this to the holy martyr, the Angel became invisible. After this, the holy martyr Theodore, thanking God, began to sing like this: “I will exalt You, my God, my King, and bless Your name forever and ever” (Ps. 144:1). And the wicked Licinius, even before dawn, sent two of his centurions, Antiochus and Patricius, ordering them: - Go and bring me the body of Theodore, who died in suffering: I will put it in a tin box and throw it into the depths of the sea, so that the crazy Christians will not somehow take it. When they went and approached the place where Theodore was crucified, they saw a cross, but the martyr crucified on it was not there. And Antiochus said to Patricius: – The Galileans say the truth 1271 that their Christ rose from the dead. It was He, I think, who also resurrected His servant Theodore. At this time, Patrick, coming closer to the cross, saw Saint Theodore sitting on the ground and praising the Lord. Then Patrik exclaimed loudly: – Great is the God of Christians, and there is no other god but Him! After this, both centurions, approaching the saint, said: “We beg you, Martyr of Christ, accept us, for from this hour we are Christians.” And both these centurions and the seventy soldiers with them believed in Christ that day. Licinius, having learned about this, sent his governor Sixtus and with him three hundred soldiers to kill all those who believed in Christ. When these soldiers came and saw what miracles Saint Theodore performed by the power of Christ, they immediately believed in our Lord Jesus Christ. And countless people flocked to this place and everyone cried out: – There is one God, the God of Christians, and there is no other god but Him! -Who is the tormentor Licinius? Let's stone him! For us there is one God and king - Christ, preached by Theodore! And there was an uproar and rebellion among the people, and even bloodshed began. A certain warrior named Leander ran to this place with a drawn sword and rushed at Theodore, wanting to hit him with his sword. Sixtus, the royal governor, restrained him, snatched the sword from his hands and cut it. And another warrior, named Mirpos, born Ugrin 1272, rushed at the royal governor Sixtus and killed him. Saint Theodore, wanting to calm the popular rebellion, said loudly: - Stop it, beloved! My Lord Jesus Christ, hanging on the Cross, restrained the Angels so that they would not take vengeance on the human race. After the martyr Theodore spoke like this with the people, begging and exhorting the people, the noise and popular confusion ceased. At this time, the holy martyr walked past the prison, and all the people and soldiers followed him; The prisoners sitting in the dungeons cried out loudly to the saint: – Have mercy on us, servant of the Most High God! The saint freed them from their bonds with his word, opened the prison doors and said to them: “Go in peace, men, and remember me.” And the whole city gathered, and everyone rejected idolatry and glorified Christ, the One God. At this time, the sick were healed, and demons were cast out from people. Whoever the saint touched with his hand, or whoever even touched his clothes, immediately received healing. Then one of Licinius’s associates, seeing what was happening, went to him and said: - The whole city, leaving the gods, according to the teachings and sorcery of Theodore, believed in Christ. The king, filled with rage, immediately sent a warrior to behead Saint Theodore. The people, seeing this warrior, again raised a noise and rebellion: rebelling against Licinius, they wanted to kill his servant. Then the saint began to exhort the people to abandon this intention. He said: - Brothers and fathers! Do not rebel against Licinius: after all, he is the servant of his father the devil, and now it is fitting for me to go to my Lord Jesus Christ. Having said this, he began to pray to God and after quite a long prayer he blessed the people. Then, marking himself with the sign of the cross, he said to his servant Uar: “My child, Uar, take care to describe the day of my death, and bury my body in Euchaites, on the estate of my parents; when you too are approaching death, bequeath to bury yourself on my left side. Then the martyr of Christ prayed again and, finally, uttering the word “Amen,” bowed his honorable and holy head to the sword and was beheaded. This happened on the 8th day of the month of February, Saturday, at the third hour of the day 1273. After the beheading, all the people showed great honor to the martyr: taking candles and censers, the Christians laid his body in a special place, and then on the eighth of June it was transferred with great triumph to Euchaites, and countless miracles were performed there, to the glory of Christ God - to Him, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, honor and worship forever. Amen. With true warfare, more passion-bearing, you were the good commander of the Heavenly King, Theodora: for you fought wisely with the weapons of faith, and you defeated the demons of the regiment, and you appeared victorious as a sufferer. In the same way, we will always please you with faith. With the courage of your soul you embraced the faith, and took the word of God like a spear in your hand, you conquered the enemy, great martyrs Theodora, praying with them to Christ God, do not cease for all of us. Licinius - Roman emperor in the eastern half of the empire, reigned from 307-324. Heraclea is a city in Pontus, northern Asia Minor. Euchaites is a city in the north of Asia Minor, not far from Heraclea, now Marsivan. From the Greek word “rhetor” - orator, vitiia and “vri” - an inseparable syllable that enhances the meaning of the word associated with it. Hercules or Hercules is a hero of ancient Greek legends, who personified the physical strength of man and was subsequently revered by the ancient Greeks as one of their favorite gods. Dius or Zeus was revered by the ancient Greeks as the father of gods and people, ruling heaven and earth, sending thunder and lightning to earth. Alcmene, according to Greek myths, is a mortal woman who conceived and gave birth to Hercules from Zeus. Artemis or Diana, according to the beliefs of the ancient Greeks, was the goddess of the moon and hunting. Serapis is the Egyptian god of the souls of the dead, who was invoked as a savior from illness and death. Subsequently, his veneration also spread to Greece and Rome, where it became very widespread. Apollo is the Greco-Roman god of the sun and mental enlightenment. The nickname Licinius, hinting at his low origins from Thrace. Licinius translated from Latin means fan; Theodore - from Greek God's gift. A notary is a cursive writer. In the early days of the R.H., this was usually the name given to the imperial secretaries who sealed the acts. This is how the pagans called Christians with contempt, considering Christ to have come from Galilee, a country that enjoyed a bad reputation even among the Jews. Ugrins are the name given to the Slavs who originated from the Ugric land or Chervonnaya Rus, now western Ukraine. Saint Theodore was beheaded by the sword in 319. You might be interested in: