Страдание святого священномученика Харалампия, епископа Магнезийского, и с ним мучеников Порфирия и Ваптоса и трех мучениц жен

During the reign of the wicked king of the Roman North in 1290, with the spread of the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ, the service of demons began to decline and idolatry itself ceased. At this time, in the city of Magnesia 1291 lived the holy Bishop Charalampius. He guided people on the path of salvation and taught them the word of God; he said: “My King Jesus Christ sent the apostles and prophets by the Holy Spirit, so that people, having come to their senses with their holy preaching, would follow steadily the path of righteousness. Your king Sever, through cruel torment, forces people to make sacrifices to soulless idols and thereby consigns their souls to eternal death. Jesus Christ, my King, through the prophets and apostles, gave us the words of heavenly life - and with this sermon our enemy is driven out, the serpent is trampled underfoot, unbelief is transformed into faith, the teaching of demons perishes, and all the enemy’s power falls in its fierce fall. So, it is better to believe the words that guide you on the path of eternal life, than to stand for a cause that causes eternal destruction.” After such words, the holy bishop was captured by the infidels and presented for torture and trial to the hegemon Lucian and the military leader Lucius. When the holy martyr Charalampius repeated the same thing before them, the hegemon said to him: “You speak reckless words out of the abundance of your heart, not distinguishing good from evil. But, honest old man, do not think that you will not be tortured for these words. Therefore, having listened to our advice, behave as befits an elder and, having thought well, approach the gods with a sacrifice, so that we do not cause you such torment that you cannot even imagine. Saint Charalampius answered: “I have already grown old and am ending this temporary life; I will never despise the heavenly blessings that lie ahead for me.” Then the judges, becoming enraged, began to prepare everything for fierce torment, and they told him: - Make a sacrifice to the gods, evil man! Saint Charalampius answered: - I will not sacrifice to demons. After all, you see that the demons whom you worship tremble and tremble before the sign of the cross of Christ. After this, the judges ordered Charalampius to be stripped of his sacred clothes and began to torture this angelic husband naked. Having hanged the holy martyr, two of the servants began to torment his body with iron claws, and so continued until they tore off all the skin from head to toe. Saint Charalampius, all tormented, spoke thus to those tormenting him: “I thank you, brothers, that by cutting off my mortal body, you renewed my spirit, striving to move into a new, eternal life.” After these words of the saint, both soldiers who tormented him were seized with horror and they said to the judges: “The dishonor you inflict on this man turns into honor for him, and the torment into joy. Isn't he Christ himself? Having taken the likeness of an old man, did he not come to Asia in order to convert all its inhabitants to himself? His body, tormented by iron claws, becomes harder than iron, so that the claws are driven into it, but it itself remains unharmed.” When the soldiers said this, the hegemon, gnashing his teeth, exclaimed: “O evil slaves and laziest in carrying out commands! By not doing what you are ordered, you are still protecting the one condemned to torment!” The soldiers who tormented Saint Charalampius finally became completely exhausted and began to openly confess and glorify the power of Christ, which had so strengthened the sufferer, and therefore both were immediately beheaded for the name of the Lord; their names were Porfiry and Vaptos. Three women who watched the martyr’s suffering also believed in Christ here. They began to glorify His most holy and all-powerful name and were tortured for this. After this, the commander Lukiy, rising from his place and taking the executioners’ weapon, himself began to torment Saint Charalampios, cruelly tormenting his entire body. And immediately his hands were taken away from the elbows, as if cut off by a sword, and, sticking to the body of the martyr, they hung on him. Lukiy, without arms, fell to the ground and began to cry out: “This man is a sorcerer! Help me, hegemon! The hegemon, approaching and seeing the hands of his commander hanging on the body of the martyr, spat in the face of Saint Charalampius, and at that moment the hegemon’s head turned and his face began to look back. Then the Magnesians, seized with great horror, began to pray to the holy martyr, saying: “Abandon your anger and turn away God’s vengeance! After all, you have been commanded not to repay evil for evil.” Saint Charalampius said to this: “As the Lord God lives, there is no malice in my heart, and there is no flattery in my tongue! You yourself see how Christ God punished these lawless leaders, He will give us eternal life, and He will destroy the wicked.” Then everyone cried out to the Lord: “Lord, do not destroy us who have sinned against You! Now, O God, You have punished our princes in order to bring us to the light and make us worthy of eternal life.” And a great multitude of people believed in Christ here. After this, Luke said: “Man of God, Angel of the Lord, have mercy on me, who suffer so much; my hands are weighing you down, hanging on your body: return them to their place, then you will get rid of the burden, and I will be healed of my illness, and if you do this, I will believe in your God.” Then the saint, pouring out his prayer before the Lord, exclaimed: “Baruch, Manuid, Maron-Atha, Rabbani, i.e. Blessed God, with us, our Lord, who took upon us our flesh, my Teacher, look upon the humility of those who are chained, release these judges of mine from the bonds of punishment, and heal me, all your wounded confessor!” And then a voice was heard from heaven, saying: “Charalampius is an earthly lamp that illuminates the sky, a servant of Angels, a companion of the prophets, a friend of the apostles, a fellow soldier of the martyrs and worthy of My conversation, I have heard your prayers and accepted the words of your mouth, may this prayer of yours be for the healing of these sick.” And immediately Lukiy and hegemon Lukian were healed of their illnesses. Then Lukiy, falling at the feet of the holy martyr, began to ask for baptism, which he was soon awarded, and the hegemon stopped the persecution of Christians: “until,” he said, “I notify the king about all this.” After this, many, coming to the saint, confessed their sins, were baptized, and those sick with various ailments received healing. Hegemon Lucian, having gone to the Emperor Severus, who was then in Antioch of Pisidia 1292, told him about everything that had happened in Magnesia: “A certain man from the society of the Galileans appeared to us,” he said; he began to turn everyone away from the gods, and to give healing to the sick; the commander Lucius, having been healed, believed in Christ, and almost all of Magnesia accepted his faith; I, too, having recovered, came here to announce all this to your royal majesty.” Hearing this, Severus, filled with anger, exclaimed: “O eternal gods, disgraced by wicked people! Why has the teaching of these deceitful people spread so widely on earth!” And immediately he sent three hundred inhuman and fierce warriors to seize Saint Charalampios. He ordered them to first torture the saint and then bring him from Magnesia to Antioch. The soldiers, returning to the king, took with them the martyr of Christ; They drove a sharp iron nail into his body, and wove a rope into his rather long beard, and, wrapping it around his neck, they dragged the saint on the way to the king. And when they had already moved fifteen furlongs from Magnesia 1293, the horse walking on the right side, turning to the soldiers, clearly said in a human voice: “O three hundred soldiers, you are thrice vile servants of the devil! Do you not see Christ God and the Holy Spirit present with this man? Why are you doing all this to him? O hard-hearted ones! Free the one whom you cannot bind, so that you yourself may be freed from your bonds.” The soldiers were greatly frightened by such a human speech spoken by a horse, however, fulfilling the royal command, they continued to drag the holy martyr to Antioch. At this time, the devil, transformed into an old man, appeared to King Severus and said to him: “Woe is me, king! I myself am a Scythian ruler, but a certain man named Charalampius, a great sorcerer, came to my country, and he turned my entire army away from me, and all the people joined my legions, and so I, abandoned by everyone, came to warn you, lest something similar happen to you.” As soon as the devil said this, Saint Charalampius, dragged by soldiers, was brought to the king. The king, seeing him, immediately plunged three sharp stakes into his chest, and then ordered to bring firewood, light it and scorch the martyr with fire little by little, so that he would not die immediately, but would endure the torment longer. When Saint Charalampius was being tortured for a long time, a certain woman who was standing there at that time, out of a desire to please the king, took hot coals and sprinkled them on the head, face and beard of the martyr, saying: “Die, old man, die; It is better for you to die than to seduce us with your flattering teaching.” This woman was the king's concubine. Her sister said to her: “Or are you, wretched one, not afraid of God? By fulfilling the king's will, you anger God. The North will not help you when Christ is angry with you.” And, turning to the martyr, she said: “Man of God, your old age is honorable, and God is with you, in whom I also want to believe and get rid of my sins.” After this, when the fire had already gone out, and the servants who tormented the saint were exhausted, although the martyr himself remained unharmed and completely healthy, the king said: “Stop torturing this man: let him answer my questions.” And when the holy martyr was brought closer to the king, Severus said to him: - Charalampius, talking early in the morning with the Scythian king, I became angry and blasphemed you; but, having now endured this torment, you will remain in our honor if only you answer me what I ask you about. How old are you? “I spent a lot of time in this hectic life: I lived one hundred and thirteen years. “How is it that, having lived so many years,” said Sever, “you still haven’t come to know the immortal gods?” The holy martyr answered: – Having lived for many years, king, I acquired great knowledge: having come to know Christ, the One True God, I believed in Him. The king then asked him whether he had a wife or not. – I acquired for myself the Heavenly Virgin, i.e. the kingdom of my Christ; he had no wife on earth. Then the king asked him: – Do you know how to resurrect the dead? “This is not in human power,” answered the saint, “but in the power of Christ.” Then the king ordered to bring a man who had been possessed by an evil spirit for a long time; For thirty-five years the devil tormented this man: wanting to destroy him, the spirit of malice either drove the unfortunate man through deserts and mountains, or plunged him into the wilds, swamps and clefts of the earth. When this man was brought close to the saint, then, smelling the fragrance from the saint, he immediately exclaimed: “I pray you, servant of God, do not torment me ahead of time! But command me with a word so that I come out, and if you want, I will tell you how I entered this man.” The saint agreed, and the devil said the following: “This man wanted to rob his neighbor, but he said to himself: if I do not kill his heir first, I will not be able to seize his wealth, and, having killed his neighbor, he already wanted to steal his inheritance; Seeing it in this state, I entered it, and now I have been living in it for thirty-five years.” Then Saint Charalampius said to the devil: “Get out of this man and do no more harm to him.” And immediately the devil left him, and the demoniac became healthy. After this the king exclaimed: – Truly great is the God of Christians! Three days later a certain young man died; The king, having ordered the dead man to be brought to him, said to Saint Charalampius: - Pray to your God that this dead man will rise again. The saint, having prayed, raised the dead, and at this many people believed in Christ; The king himself was surprised to see such miracles. At this time there was a certain eparch with the king named Crispus; at a council with the North, he told him: “Wipe this man from the face of the earth - he is a sorcerer and works his miracles by enchantment.” The king, believing the words of Crispus and changing his former kind feeling towards the martyr, said to him: - Charalampius, make a sacrifice to the gods, and you will escape the hand of the murderer. “Torment brings me great benefit: as much as my body is covered with wounds, so much does my spirit rejoice within me.” Then the king, angry, ordered stones to be thrown into the saint’s mouth, while those beating him said: “Submit to the king, so as not to die without guilt.” Finally, the king said to the soldiers: “Take burning torches and set fire to his beard and scorch his face.” And so, when the soldiers brought torches to the saint’s beard, a large fiery flame came out of it and, rushing towards the people standing around, scorched up to seventy wicked people. Seeing this, Severus, filled with rage, said: “The Scythian king told me the truth, that Charalampius is a sorcerer and that he also wants to turn my army away from me.” And then, turning to his nobles, he asked them: “Will you tell me who this Christ is in whom Charalampius believes?” “Christ is the Son of Mary,” Crispus answered him, “He was born of Her from adultery.” Then a certain man named Aristarchus said to Crispus: - Don't talk too much; where did you hear this secret and why do you know who Mary and Christ were? To this Crispus said angrily: “Yes, I know more than you,” answered Aristarchus. Then King North exclaimed: - O evil man! Do you want to contradict me? - No, king, I don’t want to contradict you or anyone else; I am only defending Christ. After this, the king, burning with rage, took the bow, pulled it and, shooting an arrow upward, said: “Christ, if you live in heaven, come down to us and pitch your tents on earth; Behold, I am preparing battle against You and have many troops to rise up against You; therefore, come down to earth and stand against me. If You do not come down, I will overthrow the heavens, extinguish the sun, and I myself will seize You with my own hands.” While the king so boldly and shamelessly spoke such blasphemies against the Lord Christ, the earth shook, and great fear fell upon everyone. The angry Lord shook the earth like a leaf; and terrible peals of thunder were heard from above, and lightning was visible, so that everyone standing there seemed to be deadened from fear. The king and with him Eparch Crispus, connected by some invisible bonds, rose from the ground and seemed to be hanging in the air. Then the king called out to the martyr: “Charalampiy, all this happened because of my sins, and I justly endure this torment; but you pray to your God that I may be freed from this torment, and I will glorify His name and yours throughout the whole city, for I am seized with great horror from your Christ.” At this time, the royal daughter named Galina approached them and said to Severus: “My father, no one can resist God: for for Christians He is hope, and for the wicked He is the destroyer. Believe in Him, and He will save you and free you from those invisible bonds with which you are now bound by Him: He who has bound you is the eternal and omnipotent God.” Having fallen before the holy martyr, blessed Galina said: “I pray to you, servant of God, pray to the Lord Christ and with your prayer free my father from these invisible bonds.” And as soon as Saint Charalampius prayed, this terrible rebuke of God ceased, and the king, freed together with the eparch from execution, stood on the ground and said: “Lord of heaven and Creator of the earth, have mercy on me! Thou who dwellest in heaven, look mercifully upon the earth!” After this, the king, together with the eparch and all his nobles, went to his palace and did not leave there for three days, all the time thinking about the wrath of God and about the terrible rebuke of the Lord that had just happened. At this time, the king’s daughter, Galina, had a vision, about which she conveyed to Saint Charalampius: “It seemed to me,” she said, “that I was standing in some richly irrigated area; and suddenly I saw a large fenced garden, in which all kinds of fragrant trees were planted; in the middle of them grew a beautiful vineyard, and in this vineyard stood a tall cedar tree, at the roots of which a spring flowed. Near this place stood a formidable guard who did not allow anyone to enter this garden. Nearby I saw my father and Eparch Crispus, whom the guardian of this garden was driving away from this place with his fiery sword. At this time I was overwhelmed with great fear and only prayed that this guard would allow me to stay there. At that time he said to me: “Come here, and I will honorably carry you on my shoulders (shoulders - Ed.) into this garden.” And when I was in it under the cedar tree, at the source, I heard someone say: “This place has been given to you and those like you.” This is what the vision was for me, and now I beg you,” Galina finished, “tell me what it means?” Then Saint Charalampius said to her: “Your dream means the following: an abundance of water is a gift of the Holy Spirit, and a fenced garden is paradise. The vineyard signifies the repose of the righteous in paradise, and the fragrant trees signify the faces of the holy Angels. The tall cedar symbolizes the glory of Christ on the cross, while the source is eternal life given by the Cross to the human race. And the guard who took you on His shoulder is the Lord Christ, Who, leaving ninety-nine sheep in the mountains, began to look for the lost sheep and, having found it, took it on His shoulder (Luke 15:4-5). Your father, together with the eparch, will be expelled from the paradise of God, for they - now grateful to God - will soon again be disobedient to Him, having fallen into the devil’s snares.” Indeed, soon after God’s terrible punishment, King Severus again fell into error and, leaving God, whose strong arm he had just come to know, again turned to idols. Calling the martyr to him, he told him: - Haralampius, listen to my advice, bow to the gods - and you will be in our honor. “It cannot happen that a servant of God could be seduced by the words of the tormentor; Truly, king, your words are reckless and absurd. Then, angry, the North said: - O crazy man, you think my words are reckless! And he ordered to attach a fishing hook to his lips and lead him like that throughout the city. The king’s daughter, approaching her father, said: “Father, what are you doing? Why are you torturing this righteous man? Why do you get caught up in the devil’s snares and, leaving what is good, choose evil? Why, having rejected life, do you prefer death? Why do you rise up against this servant of Christ with the fury of a tormentor? Listen to me, father, and as before you strove for evil, so now strive for everything good; For whoever sows evil will also reap evil, and he who sows with blessing will reap good. Remember the punishment of God that happened to you, when you were bound by invisible bonds and, hanging in the air, confessed the true God, but now, freed from the bonds, you renounce Him; so many rulers, under the punishment of the Lord, recognize His power, and, having been freed from punishment, again forget their Lord.” Having heard this, King Severus did not improve at all, but, becoming even more enraged, said: – Make a sacrifice to the gods, Galina! “Whatever you want, I will do everything, father,” she told him. Then the king, rejoicing, said: - May Charalampius be freed, since my daughter agreed to sacrifice to the gods. When the holy martyr was brought to the king, Severus said to him: “Behold, our daughter Galina has fallen away from your faith in ours and now wants to make a sacrifice to the gods; you, Charalampius, enter with her into the church of our gods and do what we want from you.” Since Charalampius did not answer anything, the king thought that he agreed. Meanwhile, Galina went to the church of Dius and Apollo and said to the priests there: “In repentance, I came to beg the gods, whom I had angered by believing in Christ.” The priests exclaimed to this: - Great Diy! Almighty Apollo! Creator of heaven and king of all rulers, look upon Galina and for the sake of the king of the North have mercy on her! Blessed Galina, entering the idol church, called the priests to her and asked them: -Which idol should I first of all overthrow - the idol of Dius or Hercules and Apollo? “No, Galina,” answered the priests, “do not plot such evil and do not mock our saviors, otherwise, angry, they will overthrow the sky and crush the whole earth.” Then Galina, taking Diev’s idol, said to him: - If you are a god, then how could you not see until now that I had come to crush you? Having said this, Galina hit the idol hard on the ground, and it broke into three parts; then she grabbed the idol of Apollo and also broke it, saying: - Fall to the ground, you too, Satan, hunched old man, because you are dust! And she crushed all the idols. Then the priests, coming to King Severus, said to him: - O king, our hope is lost, now the sun will fade away and the world will perish, for our gods are dead. The king, surprised, asked: – What do these words of yours mean? “Galina, your daughter, crushed our gods,” they answered. “Go and call fifty blacksmiths to me tonight, restore the idols, place them again in their church and say that they have risen, just as the Galileans say about their Christ, that He rose from the dead.” The priests performed all this with great care; In the morning, appearing to the king’s daughter, they told her: – Go to the church and look at our resurrected gods. – The gods have risen? - Galina asked, - I’ll go and look at them! The priests said: – Truly a great miracle: dishonored and desecrated yesterday, they now shine with even greater honor and glory. The next morning Blessed Galina said: “It’s easier for me to destroy new idols than old ones.” And, turning to the idol Diya, she added: - Jupiter, risen from the dead, I order you: go again to the dead! Having said this, Galina again broke all the idols. Then the priests, filled with rage, again reported to the king about the death of their gods. Severus, calling his daughter to him, said to her: -Why did you crush our gods? “You call them your gods only because you are seduced by false teaching: they are nothing more than a soulless thing. - Sacrifice to the gods, the seed of wickedness, and not my birth! To this, blessed Galina, as if laughing at her father, said: “I have already sacrificed to them as best I can, but if you want, I can do the same with the rest of your gods.” Then the angry king left his daughter and turned again to torturing the holy martyr Charalampius: he gave him to a widow to be mocked. When Charalampius entered the house of this widow, he bowed to one pillar that stood there, and immediately this pillar became a large tree, covering the entire house of this woman with its branches. Seeing such a miracle, the widow was afraid and said: “Get away from me, Haralampius, I am not worthy to accept such a husband; It seems to me that you are either Christ, or an Angel, or a prophet, or an apostle; I beg you, leave me: I am not worthy to take you under my roof.” To this the holy martyr answered her: “Be of good cheer, daughter, for you have found grace from the Lord. Just believe that He is “Great is the Lord”, and merciful, “and highly praised” (Ps 47:2, 96:4) The next day, in the morning, the neighbors, seeing a tall and many-leaved tree covering the widow’s house with its canopy, said to each other: Some responded to this: - This is because Saint Charalampius is there: that’s why this pillar became a tall tree. Entering the house, the neighbors found the saint sitting and teaching the widow; he told her: - Blessed are you for believing in Christ, blessed for your sins are forgiven: for the Lord accepts those who repent. And the people who came said to him: - Why don’t you tell us whether you really are Christ? - Forgive me, children, I am your servant and slave of Christ, and I do all this in His name. Then the widow, with boldness and a loud voice, cried out: – Rejoice, Charalampius, always shining with unquenchable light 1294, Rejoice, Charalampius, who led with grace, Rejoice, Charalampius, all-bright lamp. While she was saying this, her neighbors who came, believing in Christ in their hearts, fell at the knees of Saint Charalampios, openly confessing Christ, and everyone accepted saving baptism. The next day the king ordered the saint to be brought to trial; those who believed in Christ, having come to the king earlier, informed him of the miracle that had been performed, how the pillar vegetated and became a large tree. Severus was very surprised, but Eparch Crispus told him: “King, if you do not order this sorcerer to be killed with a sword, soon everyone will be seduced by his miracles and, leaving our gods and us, will follow him.” Then the king condemned the saint to be beheaded with a sword. Hearing about this, the martyr Charalampius joyfully sang this psalm of David: “I will sing to You of mercy and judgment, O Lord. I sing and mean in the immaculate way: “When will you come to me?” ( Ps 100:1–2 and to the end of the psalm). Arriving with joy at the place where he was to finish his earthly feat, Saint Charalampius said: “I thank You, Lord God, that You are so merciful and generous to me; You, Jesus, who defeated your enemies, who captured hell and healed mortal diseases, remember me, O Lord my God, in Your Kingdom.” When he prayed like this, the heavens opened and the Lord Himself descended to the martyr with many holy Angels, and a beautiful emerald throne was erected, and the King of Glory, sitting on it, said to Saint Charalampius: “Come, Haralampius, who suffered so much for Me, ask Me for whatever you want, and I will give it to you.” The holy martyr answered this: “For me, Lord, it is a great mercy that You have made me worthy to see Your terrible glory; but, Lord, if it pleases You, give glory to Your name: may in the area where my relics rest and where the memory of me will be honoured, may there be no famine, no pestilence, no corrupting wind destroying the fruits, but may peace, prosperity, abundance of wheat and wine reign in this place; and save, Lord, the souls of those people; After all, You Yourself know that people are flesh and blood, so forgive them their sins and give them an abundance of the fruits of the earth, so that, being satisfied and enjoying themselves in the midst of their labors, they glorify You, their God, the Giver of all good things; Let the dew coming from heaven be for their healing. Lord my God! Pour out Your grace on everyone! After the saint said this prayer, the Lord said: - May it be done according to your request, my courageous warrior! After this, the Lord entered heaven, surrounded by His Angels, and the soul of Saint Charalampius followed Him. Then the soldiers set off and told the king about the glory with which the martyr had been honored, how the Lord appeared to him, how he died without any beheading by the sword, and how they saw his soul ascending to heaven. The North was very surprised by all this and fell into great fear. Blessed Galina, the king's daughter, asked him for the body of the martyr and, taking it, wrapped it in clean shrouds, anointed it with aromas and valuable myrrh and, glorifying the Lord, put it in a golden ark. The king was afraid to judge and punish his daughter; seeing that the Lord was with her, he left her to live in Christian piety, according to her will. This invincible and irresistible great martyr Charalampius, who now intercedes for the whole world, suffered in the month of February, on the tenth day of 1295; standing at the right hand of the throne of God, he unceasingly prays for us to our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and kingdom, now and ever, and unto ages of ages, amen. Having become like the grace of the priesthood, gloriously, you have brightly adorned the Church with Divine suffering, who valiantly accepted for Christ, rejoicing, Haralampe, the honest universal lamp, illuminating the ends as if invincible. The Roman Emperor Septimius Severus reigned from 193 to 211. Magnesia is a city in Thessaly, the northeastern region of Ancient Greece. Antioch of Pisidia - in the western part of Asia Minor, on the border with Phrygia. Approximately 2 2/3 versts, according to our count. Charalampios translated from Greek means: “shining with joy.” The Holy Hieromartyr Charalampius died in 202. You might be interested in: