Житие и страдание святых мучеников Иулиана и Василиссы и других с ними

Saint Julian was born in the Egyptian city of Antinoe 310, from noble and wealthy parents. Having loved the purity of virginity from his youth, he wanted to preserve it until the very end of his life. Having placed this purity as the foundation of all other virtues, he remained in the fear of God, diligently reading and studying Divine books. Julian studied both Hellenic wisdom and Christian teaching, went through secular philosophy, and at the same time studied well all Divine Scripture. When he turned eighteen, his parents began to force him to marry, since he was their only son, and they wanted their family to continue. Julian refused the marriage in every possible way. When his parents and relatives began to extremely pester him with their advice and requests, forcing him to marry, the chaste young man asked himself one week to think about it. He spent this entire week in fasting, prayer and tears, day and night begging God to preserve the virginity that he, Julian, promised Him. On the seventh day, when night fell, Julian, his body exhausted from fasting and prayer, lay down and fell asleep; and then in a dream the Lord appeared to him, who consoled him, encouraged him and said: - Do not be afraid to fulfill the will and advice of your parents, for you will take yourself a wife who will not violate your virginity and will not separate you from Me. Moreover, for your sake, she will preserve her virginity, and after that I will accept both you and her, as virgins, into My heavenly abodes, for, following your example, many young men and maidens will become virgins and heirs of the Heavenly Kingdom. I will always be with you, dwelling in you and conquering all your bodily lusts and carnal warfare. The girl who will be paired with you in marriage, I will make her whatever I want. I will do what she will want to follow your good intention, and you will both see Me in the palace prepared for you, with Angelic faces and countless virgins of both sexes, whom nature has divided, but faith in Me has united, and of whom you will appear as an imitator. Having said this, the Lord touched Julian and said: - Take courage, and may your heart be strong! Being so strengthened and comforted by this Divine vision, the noble youth arose from sleep and said: “I thank You, Lord God, who tests our hearts, because You drive far away from me the sweets and consolations of this world and promise to be the guardian of my purity and my helper.” I firmly hope that You will give me that which “no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor entered into the heart of man” (1 Cor. 2:9), that which You have prepared for those who love You. And since You make me worthy to follow Your path, I pray to You that You Yourself may be a good path for me, as well as a path for all who love purity. You know, Lord, that from the very day of my birth until this hour at which You deigned to call me, I did not love or desire anything other than You. Therefore, confirm the promises that have come from my lips and bring them to fruition. Coming out of his bedroom, the young man told his parents that he agreed to fulfill their wishes and did not refuse marriage. They, filled with joy, immediately began to choose a girl who would match their son in terms of nobility and wealth. Finally, they found one in the person of Vasilisa, who was the only daughter of her parents and was distinguished by her beauty and virtues. And she was married to Julian. When, after the wedding feast, the bride and groom were led into the bedchamber and the door was closed behind them, the bride felt an extraordinary fragrance, such as occurs in the garden from lilies and roses and other fragrant flowers. With surprise, she said to the groom: -What does this mean, my lord? Now it’s winter, and yet I smell the fragrance of fragrant flowers, as if in spring, and I enjoy this fragrance so much that I don’t want to think about anything else. Then her groom, blessed Julian, said: “The fragrance you smell is not ordinary, but comes from Christ, who loves purity and gives eternal life to those who keep their virginity immaculate.” So, if you want to keep the commandments of Christ with me and please Christ, then let us love Him with all our soul and let us keep our virginity for Him in chastity. We will become His chosen vessels in the present age, to reign with Him in the future, and we will never be separated from each other. To these words the blessed bride Vasilissa answered: – What else is more necessary than salvation, which, by observing virginity, we will receive along with eternal life? I believe your words and, together with you, I wish to remain in virginity until my death, in order to receive reward from Christ, my Lord. When she said this, blessed Julian threw himself to the ground, worshiping God, and lay prostrated and crying out to Him: – Confirm, Lord, what You have begun to do in us! The maiden Vasilissa, seeing her groom praying, began to pray herself. And then suddenly the foundations of the wedding bedchamber shook, and such an extraordinary light shone in it that the very candles that were burning in the bedchamber dimmed before the rays of heaven. And a great Divine vision appeared: on one side the King of Glory, Christ, was visible with countless virgins, and on the other side our Most Pure Lady Theotokos with the faces of virgins; and on both sides were heard heavenly songs filled with indescribable sweetness, which the human ear had never heard before. At this time, two shining men in golden belts approached Julian and Vasilisa, lifted them up and showed them a large and beautiful-looking book placed on their bed; near the bed stood four venerable and handsome elders with golden bowls in their hands, and from these bowls, full of aromas, came a wonderful fragrance that filled the room. And one of the elders said: – These cups depict your perfection, for you are blessed in that, having conquered the temporary pleasures of this life, you have rushed towards eternal life, which cannot yet be comprehended by the human mind. Read, Julian, what is written in this book of life! Then Julian looked at the book and saw his and his wife’s names written there. The following was written there in gold letters: – Julian, who rejected the world for the sake of love for Me, will be counted among those “who did not defile themselves with women” (Apoc. 14:4); Vasilissa, for her purity and immaculate virginity, will be counted among the virgins accompanying the true Virgin Mary, My Most Pure Mother! When Julian read this, the book closed and the luminous men and maidens standing on both sides unanimously exclaimed: Then the elder again turned to Julian and Vasilisa and said: – This book that you see lists people who are pure, sober, truthful in their words, merciful, humble, meek, loving unfeignedly, who have endured all sorts of difficult trials, sorrows and disasters - people who loved Christ so much that for the sake of love for Him they left their father, mother, wife, children, estates, and wealth, and, moreover, they were not afraid of their very lives. to give for Christ; to their face and you are united now. After these words of the venerable elder, the Divine vision ceased, and the blessed spouses, filled with extraordinary joy, spent the rest of the night in psalmody. When the day came, their parents and relatives, as well as other guests invited to the marriage, were still feasting, celebrating the carnal union of the bride and groom, unaware of their wonderful spiritual union. And in this way Julian and Vasilissa lived with each other in perfect purity and chastity, preserving the intact color of their immaculate virginity. At the same time, they hid this secret from people, so that none of the people, even parents and relatives, knew about their virgin life, until the Lord Himself revealed it for the benefit of many. A short time after the marriage of Julian and Vasilisa, their parents died, leaving them a rich inheritance; They, having received freedom for their spiritual life, decided to serve the salvation of other people, and not just take care of their own. To do this, they built two monasteries, male and female, and, having separated, took monastic vows - he in the male monastery, and she in the female monastery. Gathering the faces of the monastics around them there, they assumed authority over them. In the monastery of St. Julian lived up to ten thousand brothers who diligently served God; for the Lord gave him such grace that those who wanted to save their souls flocked to him from all sides. Leaving their homes, wives, parents, relatives, property and all the pleasures of the world, they entrusted their souls to him so that he would lead them to the Kingdom of Heaven. Saint Vasilisa also gathered in her monastery and made up to a thousand pure virgins and, in addition, many wives, brides of Christ. And in both monasteries, as if in two gardens of Eden, Angelic purity flourished and virginity triumphed over the voluptuous demon of impurity. But it’s time to talk about the death of the saints, about how they and their children, gathered in God, moved to the heavenly abodes, crying out to Christ God: “Here we are, the children whom the Lord gave us.” 311 At that time, two wicked kings reigned - Diocletian and Maximian 312 and a strong persecution was raised against Christians 313, which, moving from one country to another and disturbing the Church of Christ, approached the borders of the country where the saints lived. Julian and Vasilissa. Many of the believers fell into confusion and fear, and blessed Julian and Vasilisa, remaining in fasting and prayer, prayed with tears to God to strengthen those who believed in Him and the monastics gathered by them and to save every single one of them from fall and destruction, so that they could all enter the Heavenly Fatherland. The Lord heard this prayer and appeared to Saint Basilissa in a special vision and said that she would soon depart from this life into eternal rest, but that even earlier all the holy virgins who were under her care would depart from this life, so that not one of these virgins, remaining after her, would fall away, for fear of torment, from the faith and be excluded from the holy face; for this, Vasilisa will live on earth for another six months, until the holy virgins who lived under her care pass to God; after the death of Vasilisa, her spiritual brother, Julian, with many brothers, will accomplish the feat of martyrdom and, having defeated the enemy with his courage, will depart from this life in order to receive the double crown of virginity and martyrdom “for the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:21). And so it happened. Within six months, the entire face of virgins, collected by Saint Vasilisa, passed by an ordinary death into the heavenly palace of their immortal Bridegroom, and of them only Vasilisa remained alive. After a short time, all those holy virgins appeared to her in a dream, dressed in royal bright clothes, and said to her: “We are waiting for you, our mother, so that together with you we can worship our Lord and King.” Go and hand us over to Christ, whose brides you have made us! Rising from sleep, the Monk Vasilisa was very happy, partly because the entire face of the virgins she had gathered entered “into the joy of your master,” and partly because, as it turned out, a heavenly abode had been prepared for her there. She told all this to her spiritual brother, Saint Julian, and then a few days later, during fervent prayer, she gave up her spirit into the hands of her immortal Bridegroom - God, and Saint Julian buried her holy body with due honors. Soon after this, the ruler Marcian appeared in those places with his wife and son and began to furiously persecute Christians, handing them over to torture and death. Having learned about Julian that he was a man of noble birth and believed in Christ, and also heard about the many brothers who lived with him and professed the same faith with him, he sent prominent citizens to him so that they would convince Julian to offer sacrifices to idols, as the emperor demanded. At that time, at the monastery of the Monk Julian, many priests, deacons and other clergy, together with bishops, gathered from the surrounding cities, and all of them, flaming with love for their Lord, were ready to willingly accept martyrdom for Him. When messengers from the ruler appeared to them, all those gathered answered them that they had one King - the Lord Jesus Christ who was in heaven, and He commanded them not to worship idols and the demons hiding in them, but to worship only the One True God; and so they obey Christ and are ready to immediately die for Him. The messengers returned to the governor and reported to him what they had heard, and the governor, angry, sent a detachment of troops to take Julian alone and burn the monastery with everyone in it. So, blessed Julian was taken and, tied up, taken to prison, and his brethren who were in the monastery, numbering up to 10 thousand, together with the bishops and clergy who were there, were burned, along with the monastery, as a fragrant sacrifice to God. And for a long time after that, in that place the sweet singing of a large choir could be heard precisely at those hours when the Divine service was usually performed - at the first, third, sixth and ninth. In the same place, many healings were performed from various diseases - on those sick people who were honored to hear the mentioned singing. The next morning Saint Julian was presented to the governor's court. For a long time they either convinced the saint with cunning words and caresses, or frightened him with fear of punishment, but he did not listen to either threats or persuasion. Then they began to beat him without mercy with gnarled sticks. During this torture, one stick, due to the force of the blow, broke and a piece of it fell into the eyes of one of the ruler’s relatives and damaged them, causing the ruler to become even more furious. The holy sufferer said to the ruler: - Listen, Markian! Order all your most skilled priests to gather, and let them call on the names of their gods and goddesses, begging them to grant healing to your relative. If they cannot do this, then I, calling on the name of my Lord Jesus Christ, will not only return to him his lost bodily eye, but will also make the eyes of his mind such that they will see the truth. The ruler accepted the proposal and, having gathered all the priests, ordered them to go to the nearest idol church to make sacrifices there and beg the gods and goddesses to heal the wounded man’s eye. The priests went and did what they were ordered, but after making many sacrifices they heard the following words from their gods: “Leave us, for we are consigned to eternal fire and remain in darkness.” How can we give sight to the blind when we ourselves see nothing? And Julian’s prayer to the Most High God is so strong that from the time they began to torture him, our torment in Gehenna became a hundred times more severe. When these demonic words were heard in the church, all the idols, of which there were up to fifty, immediately fell and were crushed to dust. The governor shouted at Saint Julian: - Wizard! Your charms are so strong that you have crushed even our gods! But we will see if you will give the blinded man his former sight, as you promised. And the ruler ordered to pour sewage on the naked martyr so that, as the ruler said, his magical miraculous power would recede from him. But the stench of those unclean things suddenly turned into an amazing fragrance that filled the whole air, so that everyone was amazed. Saint Julian, having made the sign of the cross over the wounded man’s eye, called on the name of the Lord; and immediately the sick man was healed, and his eye began to see as before. The ruler, blinded by malice, attributed this healing to magic, and not to the power of Christ, and the healed man cried out loudly: – Indeed, Jesus Christ is the True God, and He alone must be revered and worshiped! Then the governor ordered to cut off the head of the healed man, and thus, having received his sight physically and spiritually, having received baptism in his own blood, he went to the spiritual contemplation of the invisible God. The wicked Marcian ordered Saint Julian to be shackled with heavy shackles on his hands and feet, and in this form he ordered to be led around the city to be publicly desecrated and, during stops on the streets, to be tortured with various tortures. During this torture and desecration, the herald exclaimed: “This is what those who do not bow to the gods and despise the royal commands are subjected to!” When the tormentors came together with the saint to the house where the ruler’s only son, named Kelsius, was studying science, the youth, who also looked at the saint, told his comrades that he was seeing something amazing. They began to ask him what he saw, and Kelsius said: “I see that that condemned Christian, who is led chained by the soldiers, is surrounded by many radiant youths; - of which some provide him with services and help, while others place such a brilliant crown on his head that its radiance surpasses the light of the sun. It seems to me that it is good to believe in such a God and serve Him, Who so protects His servants and adorns with such glory; Believe me, my friends, that I also want to become such a minister, if the God of this Christian deigns to be my God! With these words, Kelsius threw away his books and beautiful clothes, leaving to the world what belonged to him, and hurried after the saint. Falling at the feet of the martyr, he exclaimed: - I want to have you as my second father; I completely renounce my wicked parent according to the flesh, the enemy of the righteous, the torturer. I join you, I wish, just like you, to suffer for Christ my Lord and Savior, Whom I have never known before! The soldiers who tortured Julian were surprised, and the whole city came running to the unusual sight and were amazed to see how the ruler’s son hugged the martyr and kissed his wounds. And the boy said to the people: - Know that I am the son of a ruler; Together with my wicked father, I have hitherto persecuted the innocent saints. But I acted this way out of ignorance, but now, having come to know God and being known by Him, I renounce false gods, renounce my father and mother, and despise my wealth; I confess Christ and believe in Him and declare that I am a follower of blessed Julian. Why should you hesitate, servants and warriors? Go and tell my parents that I have come to know the true God and want to be with His faithful servant. When this was reported to Kelsius's father and mother, they, hearing this unexpected news, were deeply saddened and immediately sent for the boy to take him from Julian and bring him home. But God, who protects infants, made it so that no one could touch him, for anyone who touched him immediately felt severe pain in his arm and shoulder; and therefore no one dared to take him and separate him from the martyr. Having learned about this, the ruler ordered both of them to be brought to him together and said to Blessed Julian: “With your cunning you are trying to take away all my hope from me and you are seducing the young heart with bad speeches, eradicating in it love for parents!” While the ruler was speaking, Kelsiev’s mother came running with a crowd of relatives of both sexes. She tore her hair, tore her clothes on her chest, and her screams were so terrible that the ruler himself tore his clothes and said to the martyr: - Cruel Julian! Look at the torment of your father and mother and the sobs of all your relatives and free the innocent boy from the effects of your magical power! Give us your only son and our house the gates of an heir and master. Then I will ask the kings for you, so that your guilt may be forgiven, and you will be released unharmed. Saint Julian answered this: “I do not need your help and do not seek forgiveness from your kings, but I only beg my Lord Jesus Christ, so that He, together with the lamb who was born in a wolf’s womb 314 and with all the believers, may be numbered among the burnt when I complete my martyrdom.” Before you is one who was born of you in the flesh, and has now been reborn in spirit, believing with me in Christ. He himself is already of age - let him answer you himself, let him take pity on his mother’s tears and take pity on the breast that fed him. To this the noble and prudent youth said: - The thorn grows from the thorn, but neither does it lose its fragrance because it came from the thorn, nor does the thorn that produces the thorn lose its sharp thorns. So, my parents, you, according to your custom, continue, like thorns, to torment the innocent, and leave me, like a thorn, to produce a fragrance for the believers; let those who stand on the path of destruction obey you, and let those who strive to move from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light follow me. For the sake of my Lord Jesus Christ, I renounce you, parents, but you, out of respect for your gods, torture your son, for through temporary death I want to achieve eternal life. I cannot be good for you and evil for myself, and I will not put love for you above eternal joys. Why hesitate, father? Do with me as Abraham did with his son! Take the sword and offer me, your son, as a sacrifice to Christ. If natural parental love prevents you from doing this, then send me to the most cruel tormentors so that I can suffer for my Lord, Jesus Christ. Your sobs and tears are in vain, for they cannot force me to change my confession. Hearing this, the governor ordered that Julian and Kelsius be taken to a stinking and gloomy prison, but when they entered there, the darkness in the prison turned into light; and stench into fragrance. Twenty soldiers who were present believed in Christ, but since blessed Julian was not a presbyter and could not baptize those who believed, this plunged him into sadness. However, God, who fulfills the desires of those who fear Him, sent them an elder. In that city there was one man of very noble birth, whom the kings Diocletian and Maximian greatly respected as a relative of one of the former emperors, Carinus 315. This man and his entire family professed the Christian faith. He and his wife died in faith and piety, leaving behind seven sons who, although young in years, were mature in mind. Out of respect for their parents, the kings allowed them to profess their father’s faith and fearlessly glorify their Christ. Therefore, they had their own presbyter, named Anthony, from whose hands they received the Holy Sacraments. It was to them that God, in a special revelation, commanded them to go together with their presbyter to prison and visit Julian and Kelsius who were there. When they went there at night, an Angel walked before them, at whose one touch the prison doors opened, and they, entering the prison, kissed the holy prisoners and began to pray to God with them. The presbyter baptized the blessed youth Kelsius, the son of the ruler, and twenty soldiers, and those seven brothers were inflamed with zeal for their common suffering for Christ and did not want to leave prison. Having learned about this, the hegemon was amazed that those who were allowed by the kings to freely profess the Christian faith themselves went into prison and torment, and, calling the brothers to him, he exhorted them for a long time to go home and glorify their Christ as they please, since they were given such permission from the kings. But they longed for bonds and prison and did not want freedom. “The gold that has not been previously melted down and purified in a crucible is not suitable for a royal crown,” they said. Likewise, we will not be worthy of our Christ unless our faith in Him is tested like gold. There is little value in a tree that is decorated only with leaves, but does not bear fruit. Likewise, we will not be pleasing to our Christ if we do not bring Him the beautiful fruits of our faith. Then the ruler ordered their wishes to be fulfilled, and he himself promised to report them to the king. So, the blessed youths returned from the ruler not home, but to prison, to Saints Julian and Kelsius and twenty soldiers, and Presbyter Anthony went with them. The governor sent a report to the kings about Julian, about his son Kelsia, about the soldiers and about those seven brothers. After a short time, a command came from the kings to burn everyone who showed invincible persistence; If, thanks to their charms, they save themselves from the effects of fire, then let the ruler himself kill them as he finds convenient. Having received such a command from the kings, the governor ordered a court to be set up in the middle of the city and, sitting down before the people, ordered that Saint Julian be brought before him with all his retinue, with Kelsius, seven brothers, presbyter Anthony and twenty soldiers. He began to exhort them to worship idols, pointing out to them the royal command that demanded their execution if they did not repent. But they boldly stood in the right faith, claiming that the Heavenly King had determined eternal destruction for idolaters unless they repented; and so a long time passed in mutual bickering. At this time, one dead man was being carried past the court for burial, and the ruler, seeing this dead man, ordered him to be brought to him and laid before him. The people were at a loss, not knowing what the ruler intended to do with that dead man. And the governor said to Saint Julian: “They say about your teacher, Christ, that before He was crucified, He raised the dead. Raise this dead man, as your Teacher did, and then it will be clear whether He really is God. Saint Julian responded: “What good is it for a blind man to be told that the sun is rising?” “Leave your sayings,” said the ruler, “and if you and your God have the power, then raise this dead man, as I told you.” And Saint Julian said in response: - Although your unbelief is unworthy to see such a miracle from the Lord, you will see it now, since the time has already come for His Divine power to appear, and for you to know that God can do it. I hope that the Lord will send me everything that I ask Him with faith and will not shame me before you. Having said this, Saint Julian raised his eyes and heart to heaven and prayed loudly, while his face shone with light. And he said this prayer: - Lord Jesus Christ, True Son of God, - You, Who was born of the Father before the ages, and after the appointed time was fulfilled, received human flesh without seed, from the Most Pure Virgin Mary! Look down now from heavenly heights, so that Your enemies may be ashamed and those who believe in You may be strengthened! Hear me now from Your heavenly throne and raise this dead man, so that the living do not die in spirit, and the dead in spirit come to life, seeing Your omnipotence. He prayed like this for some time, and then, turning to the deceased, he said: “I say to you, dry earth, in the name of the One who raised four-day-old Lazarus: rise up and stand on your feet.” As soon as the saint said this, the dead man immediately came to life and stood up, and all the people were horrified. The resurrected One loudly proclaimed: - Oh, how omnipotent are the prayers of the servant of God and his immaculate virginity! For where were they taking me and where was I brought back from? Ruler Markian looked attentively at what was happening and was surprised, but since he was blinded by a demon, he did not see the action of the power of Christ here, but attributed everything to magic. Then, wanting to laugh at the resurrected man, he asked him: But he began to answer him in detail with these words: “I was led by unknown Ethiopians of gigantic stature, terrible in appearance and with fiery eyes, with teeth like a lion, with claws like an eagle, from whom, apparently, no mercy could be expected. Rejoicing, they dragged me to hell, but when I found myself at the very entrance to the abyss, those Ethiopians began to expect the burial of my body, which was taken from the earth. But suddenly all hell fell into confusion and a voice was heard from the throne of God: - For the sake of My beloved Julian, let this soul return to its body! And immediately two men in white robes came and, taking me from the hands of the unclean, returned me to this world, so that through the one who raised me, I could know after death the True God, Whom I had denied during my life. Hearing this, the ruler was confused and did not know what to do; but then, fearing confusion in the crowd of people, he ordered the resurrected man, along with Saint Julian and other saints, to be taken to prison and to seal the doors of the prison with his personal ring. There, in prison, St. Julian ordered Blessed Anthony the presbyter to baptize the resurrected one, and in holy baptism this latter received the name Anastasius, which means, translated from Greek, “resurrected.” The next morning, Governor Marcian ordered to prepare thirty-one tar barrels, according to the number of holy martyrs, and fill them halfway with tar and sulfur, while preparing a large supply of firewood and brushwood for burning the saints. When everything was prepared, the bound passion-bearers of Christ were brought out of prison, and Julian and Kelsius were tied together. Many of the people could not help but cry, regretting that such young and beautiful youths were going to their deaths, being innocent of anything. Saint Julian told them: – Do not prevent gold from passing through the fire, so that it is even purer! The ruler did not want to look at the burning of his son, about which he was tormented in his heart and, leaving his governor to carry out the royal order, he left in sadness. Then they put each saint in a barrel of tar prepared for him and then, having lined all the barrels with firewood, rubbish and brushwood, they lit them. The flames from these barrels rose up to thirty cubits in height, but the saints stood in the middle of the fire, sang and praised God. When the barrels and the entire fire burned down, it turned out that the saints remained alive, safe and sound, and that their faces shone with joy. All the people, seeing this, were struck with surprise, and when this was reported to the ruler, he hastened to see it with his own eyes and, having convinced himself, became completely bewildered. However, he again ordered the saints to be taken to prison, where his wife, mother Kelsia, hastened to come, having learned that her son remained alive and unharmed. Seeing her son, she believed in Christ and was baptized in prison by Presbyter Anthony. Her name was Marionilla. The ruler, soon learning that his wife had accepted Christian baptism, imprisoned her too. Then, sitting down at the trial seat, he ordered twenty warriors and seven youth brothers to be executed with the sword of the saints, but Julian and Kelsius, as well as the presbyter Anthony, Anastasius and his wife Marionilla, decided to judge again, and therefore left them in bonds. When the day of judgment arrived, the saints pretended that they were obeying the will of the king and the advice of the ruler and wanted to worship idols. For this reason, they were joyfully led to the idol church, but when the procession approached the church, Saint Julian turned to God with prayer - immediately the church fell and crushed all the priests who were in it and up to a thousand other people. The very ground on which the temple stood split apart, and the fire coming out of the clefts devoured the pagans who approached them. After this, the saints were again taken to prison, where, during prayer, a great multitude of martyrs who had suffered before them appeared in radiance, dressed in white robes and singing heavenly hymns. Among them were twenty warriors and seven brothers who had recently been beheaded by the sword. Saint Basilissa also appeared with all her face of holy virgins and announced to Saint Julian that he and his retinue would soon accomplish a feat, end his life and triumphantly enter the heavenly villages. “The Kingdom of Heaven is open to you,” she said, “and our Lord Jesus Christ will take you to Himself, as well as those with you; The faces of patriarchs, prophets, apostles and martyrs will come out to meet you in triumph, and you will remain with them forever. Having said this, she became invisible, and with her all the saints who had appeared left, leaving the prisoners in indescribable joy and spiritual joy. After this, the tormentor again sat down at the judgment seat and, bringing the saints out, gave them over to various torments. First, he ordered to wrap yarn dipped in oil around their fingers and toes and set the yarn on fire; but the yarn on the hands and feet of the saints burned without causing them any harm. Then he ordered the skin to be torn off the heads of Saint Julian and Kelsius, and the eyes of the blessed presbyter Anthony and Anastasius to be gouged out. When they wanted to torture Saint Marionilla, the executioners’ hands became dead and they did not touch her. After this, the saints were given over to be eaten by beasts, but they were also preserved from the beasts by the power of God, which stopped the mouths of the beasts. Finally, the ruler ordered that criminals condemned to death be collected from all prisons in order to execute the holy martyrs along with them. And when this command was fulfilled, he ordered everyone to be taken to execution, and together with the martyrs, without sparing his son and wife. Thus the saints died, being beheaded with the sword along with the criminals 316. Immediately after the execution carried out on them, an earthquake began, which destroyed a whole third of the city buildings, and not a single place where any idol stood survived. At the same time, lightning flashed, thunder rumbled and hail fell, and many pagans died from the thunderstorm. Ruler Marcian at first almost died of fear, and then soon fell ill and actually died: he was eaten by worms that had formed in his body. The next night after the execution of the saints, priests and pious men came to collect the bodies of the martyrs. But since these holy bodies were in the midst of many corpses, they could not recognize them and, kneeling down, began to pray. And so the souls of saints appeared to them in the form of virgins, each soul being with its own body. Having recognized through this the holy bodies of the martyrs, those who came collected them and buried them in the church, under the altar. God, Who glorifies His saints, commanded a source of living and healing water to open in the place where the bodies of the holy martyrs were buried, and all kinds of illnesses were healed by that water and the prayers of the saints, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever. Amen. Antinoia is a fairly significant city on the borders of Middle and Upper Egypt. Currently, only ruins remain of this city. Around these ruins there are many caves carved into the rocks. In them, the sign of the cross is inscribed on many walls, testifying to the existence of churches and monasteries here; the underground galleries where the cells were located extend into distant space. The expression is taken from (Is.8:18). The Messiah, in whom the children of Israel should trust, according to the assurance of the prophet, will save them from temporal and eternal enemies and, bringing them to God, their heavenly Lord, will say: “Here I am and the children whom the Lord gave me.” The Roman emperor Diocletian reigned from 284 to 305 AD. By Maximian here we mean Diocletian's son-in-law - Maximian Galerius, his co-ruler in the East and after him his successor (from 306 to 311). The persecution of Christians under Diocletian began in 303. The cause of the persecution was Maximian Galerius, who convinced Diocletian to issue a general law against Christians. The law prescribed: destroying Christian churches, burning books of the Holy Scriptures and depriving Christians of all civil rights and positions. The persecution under Diocletian was distinguished, firstly, by the cruelty of the torment, and secondly, by the abundance of the number of martyrs killed at a time - from 10 to 100 or more in one day. Of course, Kelsius, the son of the ruler Marcian, a cruel persecutor of Christians. Karin is the son of the Roman Emperor Cara. Together with his brother Numerian, he was proclaimed Caesar upon accession to the throne of Carus, and during the campaign undertaken by Carus against the Parthians, he ruled the western provinces as emperor (283–284). When Kar died and the soldiers proclaimed Diocletian emperor, Karin opposed him, but was defeated and fell at the hands of assassins in 285. This was in 313, when Egypt and Africa were ruled by Maximinus Daza (311–313), who had previously been co-ruler of Maximian Galerius (from 305). Constantine the Great was already reigning in the west at this time. You might be interested in: