Память святого мученика Панхария

During the reign of Diocletian and Maximian 2045, the latter of whom lived in Ancient Rome, the veneration of various gods was widespread in the Roman Empire, and the confessors of Christ were not only deprived of their property, but also subjected to various tortures. At this time, a certain man named Pancharius lived in Rome. He was from the country of Uzov 2046, from the city of Vilapata, descended from Christian ancestors and was distinguished by his tall stature and beauty. Arriving in Rome, he approached Maximian and achieved the fact that he took first place among his associates and enjoyed his special love. In order to retain this love for himself, he renounced his faith in Christ. Out of love for him, Maximian instructed him to accept food and all other gifts brought in the form of taxes, some according to established custom, and others using authority, and thus create a fortune for himself to delight the eyes and provide the comforts of life in the future. Pankharius did just that and shared the opinion of the emperor in everything. Meanwhile, his mother and sister, having learned about all this, sent him a letter in which they urged him, first of all, to bring to mind the fear of God, and then to remember the Terrible future Judgment of Christ, since many, having heard about it, boldly declared before the kings and rulers about their desire to inherit the promise that they learned about from the Gospel narrative about it. Further, they also advised him to think about what terrible condemnation the one who renounces faith in the Divinity of Christ will be subject to at this Judgment (Matthew 10:33; Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26) and, finally, they reminded him of the words of Christ, saying that if a person became the owner of the whole world, but damaged his soul, then what gain would he make for himself by this, for if anyone If he harms his soul, how will he atone for it (Mark 8:36–37)? Having received such a letter and having read it, Pankharius, having come to his senses, wept bitterly and, falling to the ground, began to cry out in heartfelt grief: - Lord Almighty! Have mercy on me and do not disgrace Your servant before Angels and men at Your Judgment, but spare me according to Your great mercy. Some of the courtiers, seeing Pankharius crying and uttering such words, reported this to Maximian, and when Pankharius came to him, he asked him: - Dear Pancharius, tell me, are you really a Nazarene 2047? “Yes, king,” answered Pankharius, “I am a Nazarene and was one before, even before I became your like-minded person.” “Refuse,” Maximian told him, “from such a confession for the sake of the love that I have for you, otherwise I will not give you mercy - let this be known to you - and soon I will not put you to death, but you will die only after I wear you out with many, varied torments.” - O king! I am horrified, remembering my past, and I am afraid that fire, coming from heaven, will burn me because until now I was your like-minded person. But from this hour I will never renounce my Lord Jesus Christ, neither now nor during that long time when, as you told me, you will subject my body to many different torments. Having heard such an answer from Pancharius, Maximilian ordered to undress him and, in front of all the assembled and present royal dignitaries, beat him on his naked body with cowhide belts. After this, turning to those present, he said to them: – Now you have learned that Pancharius, the sacellar 2048 of my court and my close friend, fell into the Galilean 2049 faith; tell me what to do with him. To this the royal dignitaries said to the emperor: - O king! They ordered him to be taken to the place of public spectacles 2050 and there to undress him and give him a public beating, and then they sent him to the ruler of Nicomedia. Let him subject him to torture so that we do not become the culprits in his death, since he enjoys your great love. Maximian liked this advice, since he really loved Pancharius very much and did not find the strength to put him to death. Therefore, he ordered to take him to the place of spectacles and, in front of the people, to subject him to a cruel beating, and then gave him to the soldiers to be escorted to Nicomedia and sent with them a letter to the Nicomedia mayor, in which he ordered, after many tortures, to put Pancharius to death. When the holy martyr arrived in Nicomedia and was brought to the ruler of the city for interrogation, he said to him: “Everything that the emperor commands you regarding me, you carry out absolutely exactly.” Then the ruler of the city asked him: “My name,” answered the holy martyr, “Pankharius.” From my ancestors I was a Christian, but by my own evil will I deviated towards the wicked faith of the emperor and was like-minded in everything. God, as well as my mother and sister, directed me to the true path, and I returned to faith in my Christ, and now I am burning with the desire to die for Him in order to pay with death for my renunciation, which I so criminally committed. To this the city ruler said to Pankharius: “Give up your words, which you so thoughtlessly pronounce, exposing yourself to terrible disasters, but rather fulfill the will of the emperor and, being so prominent and beautiful, do not ruin the glorious memory of yourself on earth.” “The glory you are talking about,” answered the saint, “is temporary, but it is a means to obtain eternal life for those who renounce it for the sake of Christ.” After this, the ruler of the city, seeing the saint’s inflexibility, pronounced the sentence required by the emperor. The holy martyr of Christ Pancharius prayed, after which he was beheaded, suffering a martyr’s death. This happened on the nineteenth day of March in the city of Nicomedia 2051. In 284, the Roman Empire was divided into eastern and western. The first was ruled by Diocletian and lived in Nicomedia, and the second by Maximian, who had his residence in Rome. Both reigned from 284 to 305. The Uzes or Usipetes lived in western Germany on the right bank of the Rhine River to the north and south of the tributary of this river. The city of Vilapat is not indicated on the maps, but it is believed that it was called Villa. The word “Nazarene” is used here in the sense of a Christian, a follower of Christ, Whom the Jews called by this name because He spent most of His earthly life in Nazareth. Sacellarius was the chief butler at the court of the Roman emperors. That is, Christian. Christians were mockingly called Galileans. The circus was the place of public spectacles in Rome. Competitions between fighters and animals took place here. Here, during persecution, Christians were given over to be torn to pieces by wild animals. The martyrdom of Saint Pancharius followed around 302. You might be interested in: