Страдание святого священномученика Антипы, епископа Пергамского

During the reign of Emperor Domitian 2497, a great persecution of Christians began, and decrees were sent to all princes and rulers so that Christians would unquestioningly obey the royal commands, accept the pagan faith and worship idols. Then a multitude of faithful appeared, fearlessly confessing the word of God, and the great courage of the martyrs who fought for Christ the Savior was revealed. At this time, the great Apostle, Saint John the Theologian, was imprisoned on the island of Patmos 2498 - this pillar of the Church, the foundation of Christian truth and the preacher of the eternal deity of the Only Begotten Son of God. On Patmos, in a revelation, among the seven lamps, the Lord appeared to him and commanded him to write to the seven Angels, i.e. bishops of the seven churches of Asia Minor, and strengthen the hosts of martyrs. At the same time, the Lord also remembered Saint Antipas, about whom the present story is presented. The Lord said to His disciple “I know your works, and that you live where the throne of Satan is, and that you uphold My name, and did not deny My faith even in those days in which among you, where Satan lives, My faithful witness Antipas was killed” (Rev. 2:13). For Saint Antipas was bishop of the Church of Pergamon 2499. From these words of John’s revelation it is clear what a faithful witness of Christ Antipas was and what the inhabitants of the city of Pergamum, which was the dwelling of Satan, were like. Among them, Saint Antipas was like light among darkness, like a rose among thorns, like gold in mud, or, better to say, in a fiery furnace, according to what is written: “he tested them like gold in a furnace” (Wis. 3:6). There the law of nature was not observed and there was no prudence, but everyone took revenge for himself, and the strong offended the weak, and he who beat or killed Christians was considered courageous, kind and righteous. And when the infidels so oppressed and disturbed Christian society, blessed Antipas, a man unshakable in faith and constant in virtue, was not at all embarrassed, but, as if having changed his human nature to angelic, stood firmly and fearlessly against the enemies. Disregarding the threats of his tormentors, he often went out to the people, and among them he shone like the dawn, and with the light of pure and right faith he drove away the darkness of idolatrous error. Therefore, the demons (whom the Hellenes considered to be gods) all fled from there, and not one of them dared to stay in the city of Pergamum, where Saint Antipas lived. The demons appeared to their priests in dreams and said that they no longer tasted their sacrifices and did not smell the incense of the sacrificial offering, since the leader of the Christians was driving them away. Then the Hellenes became angry and rushed towards Antipas and, seizing him, dragged him to the place where they usually offered their vile sacrifices. And the ruler said to him: “Are you that Antipas who himself does not fulfill the royal commands, and teaches others the same, and so interferes with our sacrifices that he does not allow any of the gods to be satisfied with the fat of the sacrifice? Because of you, the gods left our city, and there is a danger that some kind of misfortune befalls it, since they will no longer want to protect it. Enough for you to become stuck in Christian magic; now repent and obey our laws, so that the gods who own this beautiful city do not cease to take care of us and protect us. And if you do not want to do this, and do not renounce your faith and despise our worship of God, then according to Roman law you will be subjected to a worthy punishment. Saint Antipas responded to this: “Know one thing, ruler, that I am a Christian and I do not at all want to obey the insane and wicked command of the king.” But since your questions must be answered decently, listen to me. If your gods, whom you call the rulers of the entire universe, are driven away, as they themselves say, by mortal man, and if those whom you consider to be your protectors and intercessors themselves seek your help, then from here you can easily recognize your error. If they cannot punish for the insult caused to them and recognize themselves as defeated by one person, then how can they save the entire human race or even just one city from harm? Having taken this into account, you must now at least abandon your destructive delusion and believe in Christ, who came down from heaven to save the human race. This Christ at the end of the ages will truly come to judge everyone and reward everyone according to his deeds, either torment or honor. After such a prudent answer, the ruler again began to say to Saint Antipas: “You obey the new laws and regulations that you invented and neglected the ancient worship of God, which we initially accepted from our ancestors and which came down to us by inheritance. It is not good to deviate from the customs of our forefathers, for the old is better than the new, and more trustworthy, and more worthy of praise is that which has been established by the antiquity of time. Therefore, you must change your belief and not follow the Man Who appeared in recent times and, with some sorceries, confused human life, and was crucified under Pontius Pilate. So, obey the royal commands, and you will live comfortably with us, and we will help you in everything and love you with filial love; for your old age is worthy of us loving and honoring you like a father. To this Saint Antipas replied: “Even if you presented me with countless arguments, I will not be so crazy and senseless that, having reached a ripe old age and approaching death, I would change my faith and, for the sake of this unhappy and dishonorable life, deviate from the established confession of faith. So, do not deceive my mind, which is constantly practicing reading Divine books. For at first there was not one of your gods; they appeared later and did no good and no benefit came from them to us; but just as they themselves were vile and worthless, they also became the culprits of an evil and lustful life for others. And if it is necessary to preserve the ancient evil institutions, then one should imitate Cain the fratricide. Why don't you follow those who wanted to ascend to heaven and were not ashamed of incest with their sisters, for which they were destroyed by the flood? If you imitate their iniquities because of their antiquity, you will no longer be punished with water, but with eternal fire and a never-ending worm, unless you repent. After these words, the wicked grabbed the holy man and dragged him to the church of Artemis 2500, where there was a copper ox: having heated this ox, they threw the holy martyr into him. He, having made the sign of the cross, prayed to God, crying out: - God, who has revealed to us the secret of our Lord Jesus Christ, hidden from the ages, through whom You have revealed to us the unknown depths of Your counsel, I thank You for all Your good deeds - for the fact that You save us who trust in You, and have granted me the honor at this hour to be included in the number of holy martyrs who suffered for Your holy name. Receive my spirit, now departing from this life, and let me find grace from You and from Your Only Begotten Son - and not only me, but also those who will live after me, make me participants in Your mercy, so that Your holy name may be glorified by all forever. Amen. Saint Antipas prayed for a long time with these and similar words, tormented by the red-hot will. Then, having made a prayer for the whole world, he gave up his spirit into the hands of God, as if falling asleep in a sweet dream, and ascended to heaven, adorned with the glorious crown of martyrdom 2501. Pious men took his holy relics and buried them with honor in the same city of Pergamum, and myrrh flowed from them, healing all sorts of human diseases for the glory of Christ our God, glorified with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever. Amen. You abolished the idolatrous flattery of Antipos, and, trampling down the power of the devil, you boldly confessed Christ before the atheists. In the same way, with the angelic ranks, you are established in the highest, bringing praise to the Lady of all, and offering prayerful thanksgiving for us, bestowing the grace of healing. For this reason we honor you, Hieromartyr Antipos, pray to Christ God to save our souls. The co-throne of the apostles and the adornment of the saints, you were blessed, having glorified yourself as a martyr, you shone like the sun, enlightening everyone Antipoly, you destroyed the deep night of godlessness. For this reason we honor you, as the Divine being of the holy martyr and giver of healing. The Roman Emperor Domitian reigned from 81 to 96. Patmos is a barren, rocky island in the Aegean Sea, southwest of Ephesus, between Sanop and Naxos Pergamum - a city in Great Mysia (in the northwestern part of Asia Minor) was the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamum. In ancient times, it was famous for its wealth, luxury and extensive library, as well as the invention, or rather improvement, of the processing of parchment (writing leather). Subsequently, this city was annexed to the Roman Empire. Artemis - otherwise Diana - was a famous pagan goddess among the Greeks, personified the moon and was considered the patroness of forests and hunting. The service to this goddess was performed with splendor and brilliance. Holy Martyr Antipas, Bishop of Pergamum of Asia, died in 95, his memory (April 11) was especially honored in Constantinople, where under Theodosius the Great (379–395) the bull was transported from Pergamum, in which St. Antipas. You might be interested in: