Страдание святых мучеников Хрисанфа и Дарии

A certain Polemius, a man of noble birth, together with his son Chrysanthos, moved from Alexandria 2024 to Rome 2025. Here he was received with honor and awarded the senatorial rank by the emperor. Wanting to educate Chrysanthus, Polemius sent him to a philosophical school. The inquisitive and very intelligent young man Chrysanthus, zealously studying various sciences, accidentally found the books of the New Testament; carefully reading and delving into their meaning, Chrysanthus thought thus: “Until then, Chrysanthus, it was fitting for you to study the pagan scriptures, full of darkness, until you came to know the true light, which alone you should adhere to.” For it would not be wise to return from light to darkness. You will ruin the labors of teaching if you reject the fruits of these labors. The fruits of labor are given from God to those who seek them. For this is what God Himself commands, as you read in the books of the New Testament: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9). If you want to leave what you sought and found, then you will be like foolish and crazy people. So, firmly hold on to what you should hold on to with all your mind, so as not to voluntarily lose the good you have acquired with such difficulty: you have found gold and silver, you have found a precious stone. For you sought in order to find, and you found in order to take advantage of what you had acquired: therefore, see that the treasure you acquired is not taken away from you. Thinking in this way, Chrysanthos looked for someone to teach him the Divine Scripture. And just as at first he was a hearer of rhetorical and philosophical wisdom and a student of the wisest teachers, so now he wanted to find unlearned teachers, such as were once the Apostles of Christ, unlearned fishermen, who, however, brought the whole world to the knowledge of Christ. “Seeing the courage of Peter and John and noticing that they were unlearned and simple people, they were surprised, and meanwhile they recognized them that they were with Jesus” (Acts 4:13); The wise young man Chrysanthus diligently sought such teachers, for he read from the Apostle, who says: “Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the questioner of this century? Has not God turned the wisdom of this world into foolishness? For when the world through its wisdom did not know God in wisdom, it pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save those who believed” (1 Cor. 1:20–21; cf. Is. 33:18). So, reflecting within himself and looking for a Christian teacher, Chrysanthus learned about one Christian, named Carpophorus, that he was very knowledgeable in the Divine Scripture; this Carpophorus lived, or better said, hid due to persecution - in a certain cave, in a place unknown to anyone. Hearing about this Christian, the pious young man was very happy and earnestly begged the Christian who told him about this Christian to show him the place where that man of God lived. Having learned about his place of residence, Chrysanthos came to Carpophorus, a presbyter, and was taught by him the Divine Scripture and the Christian faith; often coming to him, he received instructions from him on the path of salvation. Instructed by the presbyter Carpophorus, Chrysanthos comprehended the secrets of the Divine Scripture in a few months and then received holy baptism from him. And Chrysanthus became so established in the Christian faith and confirmed in love for Christ that after seven days from his baptism he openly began to preach Christ the Son of God to the people. Hearing about this, some of the noble relatives of Chrysanthus said to his father: - Look, you will be guilty and will be exacted from you for what your son dares to do, for he curses the gods, but recognizes a certain Christ as the true God; and if rumors about this reach the king, then because of him, neither you nor us - his relatives - will be forgiven, and we will all lose the royal favor. For whoever dares to speak such blasphemous speeches against the gods is thereby an opponent of the royal laws. Angry with Chrysanthos, Polemius locked his son in a dark and stinking prison and starved him, only giving him a small amount of food in the evening. Blessed Chrysanthus considered that prison and hunger for himself not as punishment, but as training in fasting, silence and modesty of Christian life and rejoiced in his dark and cramped home more than in his spacious and bright chambers. Having learned about this, the family and relatives gave the following advice to Polemius: – If you want to turn your son away from the Christian faith, then make sure that he remains free and enjoys pleasures. Find him a beautiful and smart girl and marry him with her, and then he will forget about Christianity. Christians consider the prison, bonds and hunger with which you torment Chrysanthus to be glory and honor, more than torment. Hearing this, Polemius ordered to prepare a luxurious chamber, decorate its walls with expensive wallpaper, put a precious bed in it and prepare everything for fun and pleasure. Having then brought his son out of his dark seclusion and dressed him in expensive clothes, Polemius led him to that chamber. Having then chosen the most beautiful maidens from among his slaves and dressed them in luxurious clothes, Polemius locked them in that chamber with his son, while strictly punishing the girls so that they should try in every possible way to seduce Chrysanthus into carnal voluptuous love, and turn him away from Christ. And all kinds of food and the best wine were served in abundance in that chamber, and the girls sang fornicating songs in front of Saint Chrysanthus, danced before him, spoke shameless words, trying in every way to capture the soul of the blessed young man in fornication and carnal pleasures. The young man Chrysanthos, not like a young man, but like a proven husband, treated the games and temptations of those girls and, being among the nets, remained elusive. In this struggle, he showed himself to be an invincible warrior of Christ, completely refusing tasty foods and sweet drinks; He looked at those girls as if they were adders, avoiding touching them as if they were snakes, and remained in prayer all the time. When he needed to strengthen himself with sleep, he lay down on the ground without a bed, and considered the seductive and shameless words of the girls as if he were arrows and deflected them from himself with a shield of faith, crying out to God: “Take your shield and armor and rise to my aid; Draw your sword and block the path of those who pursue me; say to my soul: “I am your salvation!” ( Ps. 34:2–3 ). Who will be able to overcome this struggle, which the devil has raised against me, unless Your right hand overcomes and wins? He is seduced who thinks by his own strength to overcome carnal passion and maintain chastity, unless the flame of the flesh is extinguished by the rain of Your mercy. A soul cannot reach Your villages if You Yourself do not bring it there, for carnal passion is like some sneaky beast hiding in the desert of everyday vanity for the destruction of human souls, and if anyone escapes its teeth, then we must give thanks with all our hearts to God our Savior, for through You we are delivered from such destruction. So the chaste Joseph, with Your help, escaped the hands of a harlot, like the teeth of an untamable beast - that Joseph, about whom the father of tears said: “A fierce beast has eaten my son” (Gen. 37:33). For truly, Pentephri's wife, like a fierce beast, attacked him and, like a certain lioness, tormented the gentle lamb Joseph with her nails, dragging him to iniquity (Gen. 39:12). And what fiercer beast could there be than the devil and the woman? Natural carnal lust excited the young man Joseph, and the woman captivated him even more with the play of her eyes, precious clothes, beauty of face, wealth, power, and with flattering words she carried the chaste young man into destruction and death. And it’s amazing that he escaped the crafty trap of the beast! It was not in vain that his father said: “It is good for me if my son is alive” (Gen. 45:28), for he escaped a great and inevitable death and more cruel than when his brothers wanted to kill him; He escaped this death with Your all-powerful help, O Almighty God! For You were with him then. And now I, Lord, humbly beg You, give me help against these beasts and snakes with which my father imprisoned me in the same place. And just as enchanted snakes sleep, so let these wicked maidens sleep during my prayer, so that they cannot arouse carnal lust in my young body. Help me, my Savior, for I know You alone, the true God, who saves those who believe in You and gives them His invincible help.” After this prayer, the girls, locked with Chrysanthus, fell into such a deep sleep that they could neither wake up themselves nor be awakened by anyone until they were taken out of that chamber. When they were taken away from there, they immediately woke up; Having then tasted the food, they again entered the chamber of Saint Chrysanthus, and again fell into the same heavy sleep. And this continued every day. When Polemius, the father of Chrysanthos, was told about this, he began to weep over him as if he were dead. Then some of the friends said to Polemius: “Your son learned magic from Christians and easily put those girls to sleep.” But betroth him and marry him to an educated and intelligent girl, and she, even if he did not want to marry, living with him constantly, will lead him to carnal intercourse with herself and turn him away from Christianity. “Where can we find such an intelligent girl who could soften the heart of the hardened Chrysanthus, influence him with admonition and turn him to our laws?” To this his relatives told him: – Among the maidens serving at the church of the goddess Athena 2026, there is one young woman named Daria; she is very beautiful in face, intelligent and has studied all the books and all the wisdom of rhetoric; She is already at premarital age. So, hasten to betroth her to your son before someone else takes her. Having listened to this advice, Polemius asked his relatives to go to that girl and, telling her about the youth Chrysanthus and about his seduction into the Christian faith, they would beg that girl to seduce him into marriage with her and turn him away from Christianity. That girl agreed to marry Chrysanthus and prepared to use seductive speeches to persuade her fiancé to carnal love and lead him to the worship of the Roman gods. Following this, the girl was honorably brought to the house of Polemius and, with her natural beauty, being adorned with precious clothes and decorations, was introduced into the bedroom of the saint. Left there alone with him, she, with all kinds of kind words and various seductions, attracted the chaste young man to fornication. The warrior of Christ, Chrysanthus, remained firm as adamant 2027, unshakable as a pillar and motionless as a mountain, conquering carnal love with the love of God and repelling the arrows of the devil fired at him with the sign of the cross. Sighing deeply from his heart to God and calling on the Holy Spirit to help him, Chrysanthos said to the girl: - Beautiful girl! If you, only for the sake of a short-term union with me - a mortal man - dressed and adorned yourself in such a way and uttered such sweet words in order to turn me away from the life I voluntarily chose, to corrupt my soul and reject all my thoughts, possessed by another love, then how much more should you care so that you can gain love from the immortal King, the Son of God; and this is easy for you to do if you want it yourself. If you keep your soul together with your body in purity, and just as you have now decorated your body with precious clothes, so you decorate your heart with good morals, then the Angels will be your friends, the Apostles will be your friends, the martyrs will be your neighbors; at their intercession, Christ Himself will be your bridegroom, and He will prepare for you an imperishable palace in heaven that is incomparably more beautiful and brighter than the earthly one, and will give you heavenly eternal joy, will make your youth immortal and will assign you a dowry in the books of eternal life. Hearing such words of the holy young man, Daria was touched and said: “It was not any carnal lust that brought me here to you in this rich attire, but love for you and the tears and requests of your parent that I bring you to serve our gods.” Saint Chrysanthus responded to this: “If you have any arguments and clear indications for this, through which you could prove the truth of the service you offer to the gods, then I will listen to you and change my thoughts. For our common benefit, let's talk about this. “There is nothing more useful and necessary for people,” said Daria, “than to honor the gods and watch carefully so as not to anger them, but we should please them with sacrifices, so that they will be our guardians.” - O wise maiden! - the saint answered her. - How can those gods be our guardians who themselves require protection, and are guarded at night by dogs tied to them so that they are not stolen by thieves? For this purpose, they are nailed with iron nails and soldered with tin, so that, if someone knocks them over, they do not fall to the ground and break. “If an ignorant people could worship the gods without sculptured idols,” said Daria, “then they should not have been sculptured and installed.” They are cast from gold, silver and copper and made from marble and wood, so that people, seeing them with their eyes, know whom they should imagine in their minds, honor and fear. “Let us consider and judge,” answered Saint Chrysanthos, “who are the idols made to represent and are those whose idols are supplied worthy of Divine honor?” One who does not have all holiness and righteousness and Divine glory cannot be called God. What kind of holiness and righteousness and Divine glory does your sickle-bearer Kron, who ate his own children, have, as his admirers wrote about 2028? Or that you will find something worthy of praise in Zeus himself 2029, who lived as many days as he did, committing so many iniquities, adulteries and murders: the persecutor of his father, the destroyer of his children, who committed adultery with other people’s wives, who was the husband of his sister, the tormentor of the kingdom, the inventor of magic, the mediator of deaths and guilty of so many iniquities and defilements that it is impossible to hear about - they were so shameless and unclean his affairs. Do you really believe that such a wicked man can be a god? And that he was exactly like this is evidenced by your own writers, who wrote that wicked people called the kings who died in the war brave in war as gods. Tell me what virtue was in your god Zeus, who until his death was the enemy of all purity and honesty, for he himself, through the abduction of the youth Ganimid 2030, desecrated the air, and also desecrated the earth, raping his sisters. And in your Ermea 2031 you find the Divine, whose head is like some kind of winged monster. Through magic he found gold hidden in the ground, and with witchcraft and a magic wand he neutralized snake venom; He did this with the help of demons, to whom he sacrificed a boar or a rooster every day. What kind of holiness was there in Hercules 2032, who got tired of killing his neighbors and himself - at the behest of God - plunged into the fire and burned, accursed, along with the stick he was carrying and his skin? What good will you find in Apollo 2033, or in the secret sacrifices of Bacchus 2034, in drunkenness and intemperance? Let us also remember the goddess Ira, the sister and wife of Zeus, the insane Pallas 2035, the shameless Venus 2036, quarreling among themselves, jealous of one another, angry at one another, each arguing about her own beauty and demanding the shepherd’s judgment. All these who had neither Divinity, nor holiness and righteousness, who will consider worthy of Divine honor? And it is not appropriate to talk about other lesser gods, for the main gods are like the head, after which the other members must follow. And which of them should be revered as a god or goddess, when Cronus, Zeus and Venus, who are considered by wicked people to be the greatest of the gods, are not really gods? So, if your gods are contemptible and vain, then all the more worthy of contempt are those who consider them to be gods. Daria, having listened carefully to the words of Chrysanthus, said: – If the tales of our poets are reckless, then let us turn to the philosophers who teach to renounce all evil and adhere to virtue. When they talk in their writings about the formation of the world, they explain the names of the gods as follows. By Cronus they mean time, which consumes everything and turns it into nothing, by Zeus - heat, by Ira - air, by Aphrodite - fire, by Poseidon - the sea, by Ceres - the earth, and by other divine names - the rest of the elements. – They usually make a likeness of something that cannot always exist, but that disappears over time; the earth always exists, and likewise the sea and fire always exist and are observed by everyone, as well as the air. And why is it legal to honor these elements as gods in idols, having the likeness of people, and created by human hands - I don’t know and don’t understand? And why do you honor the symbols of the elements in humanoid sculptures, and not honor those very elements? Why don't you worship the earth, air and sea? Is there such a prince or king who would order himself to be despised, and his likeness, made by someone else, to be worshiped? And since there is no such king or prince, it should truly be said that under those images you depict not the elements and not gods, but mortal people. “Your evidence, Chrysanthus, confirms my thought: sculptured idols are revered by simple, ignorant people, but we reverence the very things whose images are placed.” “If you want to confirm your teaching with our evidence,” Chrysanthos said to this, “then let us cite as an example all people who revere the elements: if they revere the earth, then let them honor it with dignity, as their goddess, and they should not dishonor it, let them not plow it, do not dig it, and do not cultivate it in any other way; let the land be free from cultivation and cultivation. Whoever does not recognize the earth as a goddess, if he is a farmer, let him cultivate it with a plow and a spade, without giving her any Divine honor. And look, who has the most fruitful field and gardens? Who does not till the earth and dig it and worship her as a goddess? Or who cultivates and processes it without any reverence? If the earth truly - as you say - is a goddess, then she should give you, as her worshipers, all kinds of fruits without your labor, without being plowed, cultivated and sown. Also, if the sea is God, then swim on it without an oar, let it take you where you want; in the same way, if you want to have fish, then do not catch them and do not work, but worship the sea as if it were a god, and ask it from it through prayer. And about the remaining elements you must understand that they do not know their worshipers, for they have neither soul nor mind, but by God’s command they serve the needs of man; and the earth, at the command of its Creator, being watered and warmed by the rays of the sun, vegetates seeds, grows, and in due time bears fruit. Therefore, it is appropriate to honor the One God the Creator, who created, arranged and gave us all this for life, and not the elements he created. After all, even children studying in schools give honor not to books, tablets and charters, but to their teachers; in the same way, a sick person, being cured and made healthy, gives thanks for his healing not to the medicine, but to the doctor who made him healthy. After Chrysanthus said this and much more, Daria believed in the One True God, our Lord Jesus Christ, and then they both agreed with Chrysanthus to live in celibacy, under the guise of marriage, preserving their virginity and remaining in the fear of the Lord. From that time on, Polemius, the father of Chrysanthos, gave him complete freedom for the sake of his imaginary marriage, for he was very happy about his son’s marriage, since he did not know the secret kept between the newlyweds. In the same way, he gave his son all his property into his possession, as his only heir. Soon Polemius died, for God arranged it so that the holy duo - Chrysanthus and Daria, spending their marriage in virginity, could serve Him more freely. When in this way Chrysanthus became completely free in his life, he baptized his wife, the virgin Daria, and she soon studied all the Divine Scripture and all Christian books - and became a saint in her life and a perfect slave and bride of Christ. And not only did Chrysanthus and Darius care about their own salvation, but also about the salvation of others, for he converted many husbands to Christ, and exhorted young men to lead a virgin life, and she brought many wives and virgins to Christ. And living each in houses specially built like monasteries, they each had their own meeting of virgins: Chrysanthus - young men who despised all the pleasures of this world and promised a pure life to God, and Darius - girls who were carried away by Christ. After several years, when the meetings of Chrysanthus and Darius greatly increased in Rome, there suddenly arose rebellion and unrest in the city. The people, coming to Eparch 2037 Kelerin, slandered Saints Chrysanthus and Darius. The husbands shouted: “We lost our betrothed brides because of Daria!” “We have lost our husbands!” “We lost our betrothed suitors because of Chrysanthos!” And all the people cried out, saying: – How will children be born if marriage is rejected? The human race will end if, following the teachings of Chrysanthus and Daria and their magical cunning, men move away from women. Then the eparch ordered that Chrysanthus and Daria be taken and given over to various torments if they did not make sacrifices to the gods. He gave Chrysanthus to a certain tribune 2038 named Claudius, and the tribune handed him over to his soldiers, saying to them: - Take him outside the city to the church of Zeus, and if he does not want to bow to the invincible Hercules there, then torture him in various ways until he submits and makes sacrifices. The soldiers, having taken Chrysanthus, tied him without mercy with strong ox sinews and tightened them so tightly that they touched the bones of the martyr, but these bonds immediately broke and so suddenly that it was impossible to even see it with the eye; all this happened faster than a word could be uttered. The warriors worked for a long time, tying Chrysanthus; having achieved nothing, they became furious and put him in a dark and stinking cave; having placed shackles on him and shackled him in iron chains, they cursed at him and subjected him to various reproaches; but those shackles, like dust, crumbled. In addition, they also poured various unclean things on it, saying: – Your magic and sorcery will not help you here! But suddenly the stench of this uncleanness turned into an incense. After this, the soldiers slaughtered the calf, tore off its skin, and with this still raw skin they wrapped the martyr over his naked body and placed him in the heat of the sun; but even from this torment the saint did not experience any harm. After this, he was again shackled in iron chains and thrown into prison, but those chains suddenly broke, and a light shone in the prison, as if from many burning candles. The soldiers told their tribune Claudius about everything that had happened. Claudius, having come to the prison and seeing the light there, ordered the holy martyr Chrysanthus to be brought to him and said to him: - By what magical power do you perform such miracles? I pacified many wise men and sorcerers and did not find such strength in them. And since I see that you are a glorious and wise man, I do not demand anything else from you except that you abandon the daring Christian teaching, because of which turmoil and unrest are occurring among the Roman people; So, act as befits your origin and offer worthy sacrifices to the almighty gods. Saint Chrysanthus answered him: “If you had even a small spark of wisdom in you, then you would easily know that it is not magical cunning, but Divine power that helps me and strengthens me.” But you look at me the same way as you look at your gods - with eyes darkened by unreason. For if your eyes looked correctly, you would see that your gods do not see; and if your ears heard the truth, you would know that your gods do not hear the voice of those who call upon them; and if you had a sound mind, then you would understand that your gods have nothing within themselves except dust, dust and tin. Then Claudius the Tribune ordered the martyr to be tied to a tree and beaten with a gnarled stick; but in the hands of those who beat the martyr the sticks were hard and heavy, but on the body of the saint they were soft, like twigs; Seeing this, the tribune ordered to stop beating Chrysanthus and, untying him from the tree, put his clothes on him and, turning to the soldiers, said: “Truly, it is not any human magical cunning that is at work here, but the Divine power Itself. For the strong bonds from the sinews of the ox themselves fell apart, and the fetters were broken, and the wood on his feet became like dust; and the damp skin worn on him, being in the sun all day, did not dry, and the heavy shackles were loosened by an invisible force and broke, and the gloomy prison was illuminated by a great light, and the heavy stick, touching his body, became soft, like a rod. So, seeing the Divine power clearly operating in him, let us all fall at the feet of this man of God and ask forgiveness for all the evil and torment we inflicted on him. Let us beg him to reconcile us with his all-powerful God, who works such miracles, who makes his servants so strong and invincible in all adversities, as we ourselves see: for this sufferer, His servant, just as he defeated us, will also defeat our princes and kings and put to shame the irresistible power of the heavenly God within him. Having said this, Claudius with all the soldiers fell at the feet of Saint Chrysanthus and said: – “Truly we have come to know that your God is the true God; therefore we beseech you that you will turn us to Him and make us His servants.” The saint said to them: – If you want to come to my God, then come to Him not with your feet, but with your heart, for God is close to those who seek Him with heart and faith. And for a long time then Saint Chrysanthos talked with them about the true God; after this conversation, the tribune Claudius and his wife Ilaria and his two sons - Jason and Maurus - believed in God; all their relatives, friends and their whole house also believed; All the soldiers and all their households believed, and they all accepted holy baptism together. And they all studied constantly from Chrysanthus, listening diligently to his speeches about the Lord Jesus Christ, and everyone wanted to suffer for Him. At that time Numerian 2039 reigned in Rome. When rumors reached him about the conversion of the tribune Claudius to Christ and his baptism with his entire family and soldiers, he ordered Claudius to be drowned in the sea, tying a stone around his neck; and he ordered all the soldiers and both sons of Claudius to be beheaded with the sword. At the site of the death of the holy martyrs of Christ there was an abandoned cave, where the dead were previously buried; Having cleared this cave, the Christians took the bodies of the holy martyrs at night and laid them in that cave. Claudius’ wife Ilaria often came to this cave, to the relics of the holy martyrs, and prayed there at the site of the beheading of her sons. One day, when she was praying in that place, she was captured by the pagans, who dragged her to torture. She begged them, saying: “Leave me to finish my prayer, and then take me where you know.” When the warriors then freed Ilaria a little, she knelt on the ground, raised her hands to the mountain 2040, raised her eyes to the sky and said: - Master, Lord Jesus Christ, whom I confess with all my heart! Place me together with my sons, whom You called to suffer a feat for You, and they laid down their souls for You, their Lord. Having prayed thus, she gave up her spirit to God. The soldiers who took Ilaria, seeing that she died, were touched in their hearts and, leaving her two slaves who were with her near her, they left. The slaves, having taken the body of their mistress, buried it with honor near that dilapidated cave in which the holy martyrs were buried. The king ordered Saints Chrysanthos and Darius Numerian to be subjected to various torments. And so Chrysanthus was put in chains and thrown into a deep, stinking pit, where all the sewage from the city flowed, and Daria was taken to a fornication. God helped both martyrs, revealing His omnipotent power in them, for Saint Chrysanthus, in his dark and stinking prison, a heavenly light shone and instead of the stench there was a great fragrance; and a lion was sent to Saint Daria, who, running out of his confinement, came to her room, where the saint, prostrate 2041, was praying, and began to guard her. And the citizens, not knowing about this, sent a certain shameless young man to Daria so that he would desecrate her. When he entered the saint’s room, a lion immediately grabbed him and, throwing him down, began to trample him with his feet; and looking at Saint Daria, like some reasonable slave, he waited for the command of his mistress, what she would order to do with that shameless young man: whether to kill him or let him go alive. Saint Daria, realizing this, said to the lion: “I adjure you by the Son of God, leave this young man so that he can hear the word of God from me.” Leo, leaving the young man, went out and lay down at the door, not allowing anyone to approach Saint Daria’s room. And Daria said to that young man: - Behold, the lion’s rage at the very name of Christ was tamed, and the beast, like a sensible person, knows the true God, fears Him and reveres Him. But you, wicked man, being a sensible person, do not fear God, being in such evil and filth. And what you should have been ashamed of and repented of, you boast about. The young man fell in front of Daria and began to scream, saying: “Tell me, the servant of Christ, to leave here without harm, and I will tell everyone that Christ, Whom you serve, is the true God and there is no other besides Him.” And Darius ordered the lion to give the young man a free exit from her room. And the young man went throughout the whole city, crying loudly: - Know, all Romans, that Daria is a goddess! And so the circus wrestlers 2042 ran to Daria’s house and, with their characteristic courage, wanted to take the lion out of Daria’s room. The lion, strengthened by God, grabbed each of them, hit the ground and, laying them all near Saint Daria, guarded them at her feet, without killing them or causing them any harm, but awaited Daria’s command. And the saint said to those men: – If you believe in Christ, you can leave here without any harm; If you do not believe, then may your gods deliver you from death. They all unanimously exclaimed: “Whoever does not believe that Christ is the true God, let him not leave here alive!” When they called thus, Daria commanded the lion to release those men without any harm. And they came out from there and cried out in a loud voice: - Believe, peoples of Rome, that there is no other god than Christ, preached by Daria! When Eparch Kelerin found out about this, he ordered to build a strong fire at the door of the house where Daria and the lion were and burn them. Seeing this, the lion roared loudly out of fear. The saint said to him: - Do not be afraid: you will neither be burned, nor taken by anyone, nor killed, but you will die your own death at a certain time; Therefore, leave here without any fear and go into the desert. He whom you have honored in me will protect you. And the lion, bowing his head, went out and, passing through the entire city, did not touch anyone, but ran away into the desert; nevertheless, those who got rid of the lion accepted holy baptism. When all this was announced to King Numerian, he ordered Chrysanthus and Darius to be given over to fierce torture. Chrysanthus was hanged on a tree and lighted candles were brought to singe his body, but immediately the tree broke, the ropes broke, and the candles went out. Those who wanted to touch Saint Daria, their hands immediately writhed, their whole body was tormented, and they screamed loudly from severe pain. Seeing this, the eparch was afraid and hastened to inform the king about all this. The same, attributing these miracles not to the power of God, but to magical cunning, ordered both martyrs - Chrysanthus and Darius - to be taken out of the city and on the road called "Salariye" 2043, to dig a deep ditch, throw them there and cover them alive with stones and earth. The holy martyrs Chrysanthus and Darius were brought there, and with singing and prayer they descended into the ditch and accepted martyrdom together, being covered, at the command of the tormentor, with earth and stones. And thus, just as during life they had a common spiritual marriage, so they both died together, being accepted by God as a living and acceptable sacrifice, and received crowns of immortal reward 2044. At the place of death of the holy martyrs Chrysanthus and Daria, after many miracles and healings took place there, many Christians - husbands, wives and children, gathered in a nearby cave, joyfully celebrated the day of their martyrdom and partook of the Divine Sacraments. The tormentor found out about this and ordered to block the entrance to that cave with earth, where many Christians died as martyrs, among whom were: Diodorus the Presbyter and Marian the Deacon and many clergy - and it is not possible to list the names of all those who died there, for there are very many of them. I, Warin, and Armenius, brothers, wrote about all this at the behest of His Holiness Pope Stephen and sent it to all cities, so that everyone would know that Saints Chrysanthos and Darius in the Kingdom of Heaven received martyr's crowns from our Lord Jesus Christ, to Him be glory and power now and always and to all ages. Amen. Alexandria is a famous city founded by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, at the mouth of the Nile River. Alexandria after Rome was the first city in the world and served as a center of trade, industry and especially pagan education, and in the first centuries of Christianity - a hotbed of Christian enlightenment. Christianity was brought here, according to legend, by St. Mark the Evangelist around the year 60. Rome, the main city of the Roman state, lies in the middle part of Italy, on both sides of the Tiber River, at its confluence with the sea. In Rome, the holy Apostles Peter and Paul died as martyrs under Nero. Athena (also Pallas or Minerva) is a Greek goddess, the daughter of the supreme god Zeus, born without a mother from his head. Among the Greeks, Athena was generally the personified mind of Zeus: reason and strength are the main features of this goddess. The guardian of the city, Athena, encourages everything that contributes to the well-being of citizens, agriculture and crafts; her mind invented many useful things; she practices and teaches every woman's craft; she is the goddess of all arts and crafts, all wisdom and science. She oversees the application of law and law, the courts and public assemblies. At the same time, she is the goddess of war, and was sometimes depicted in military armor. Adamant (diamond) is a stone that is so strong that it cuts and cuts other stones without being harmed. This name in church literature is given to many saints (especially the fathers and teachers of the Church), who became famous for the firmness of their faith and character. Kronos or Kronos (or Chronos, - time) - god of time, son of Uranus (sky); he devoured his own children, but his wife Rhea saved Zeus and hid him in the reeds of the island of Delos, where he was suckled by a goat. Zeus (or Jupiter) is a Greco-Roman god, revered by pagans as the ruler of heaven and earth, the father of all gods and people. Ganimid (or Ganymede) is the son of King Troy, the most beautiful of mortals, whom the gods kidnapped to heaven so that he could live there forever and fill Zeus’s cup. (According to mythology, Zeus carried him away either through his eagle, or himself in the form of an eagle). Subsequently, Ganimid becomes the cupbearer of the gods and especially Zeus, becoming the latter’s favorite. Ermius (Hermes) or Mercury was considered the messenger of the gods, the patron of trade and speakers, and was one of the most popular pagan gods. (So ​​the ignorant population of the cities of Lystra and Lycaonia was so amazed by the miracles of the Apostles Paul and Barnabas that they called Barnabas Zeus, and Paul Hermias, because he was in charge of the word. - Acts 14:12). Hercules (Hercules or Heraclius) was the son of Queen Alcmene and the god Zeus. He served as the highest ideal of Greek heroic strength; was a national hero of the Greeks. Apollo (or Phoebus) is the son of Zeus and Latona, one of the most revered Greco-Roman pagan gods. He was revered as the god of the sun and mental enlightenment, as well as the well-being of society and order, the guardian of the law, and the deity of predicting the future. Bacchus (Dionysus) is the son of Zeus and Semele, the god of grapes and winemaking, who with the gift of wine pleases the hearts of people and disperses sadness and worries. The festivities in honor of Bacchus were accompanied by great licentiousness. Pallas, see above under the word Athena. Venus is the Greco-Roman goddess of love, beauty, voluptuousness and unclean lusts. Eparch is the ruler of a city or region. Trivun (tribune) is something like a colonel or company commander. Emperor Numerian reigned from 283 to 284. Grief - upward, that is, to the sky. Prostrate - face down, on your face. These wrestlers in Roman circuses are known as gladiators. At this place there was an ancient water supply system, adapted by Christians for burying the dead. The death of the holy martyrs Chrysanthus and Daria followed in 283. (For some, the death of the holy martyrs dates back to the year 256, during the reign of Emperor Valerian). You might be interested in: