Страдание святых мучеников литовских Антония, Иоанна и Евстафия

These holy martyrs came from the Lithuanian city of Vilna 2545 and, according to the wicked custom of that time, were fire worshipers 2546, just like other inhabitants of that country. Anthony and John, brothers, loved the Christian faith with all their souls, and when one day a certain presbyter named Nestor arrived in Lithuania, they received Divine baptism from him. Moreover, the eldest of them in age was named John, and the youngest Anthony 2547. Both brothers, after baptism, lived a life befitting true Christians. While in the service of the Lithuanian prince Olgerd 2548, Anthony and John tried to hide from him their belonging to Christianity, but could not achieve this because they were too noticeably different from the pagans in their Christian customs and actions. So, they did not want, like others, to cut the hair on their heads and beards the way the pagans cut their hair, or to eat fast food on fast days; They did not perform other ungodly customs that were contrary to Christianity. And when one day the prince asked them why they did not follow the ancient Lithuanian customs, the saints fearlessly confessed themselves to be Christians. The prince began to force them to renounce the Christian faith and taste the meat dishes offered at the meal. But they, firmly maintaining the Christian faith, did not want to taste meat, since it was a fast day. Then the prince ordered them to be put in a dark prison, where the saints went with joy, as if they were going not to prison, but to the royal throne, praising and thanking God for allowing them to suffer for His holy name. After the saints had been in prison for a whole year, John, exhausted by imprisonment and fearing torment, sent a request to the prince to release him from prison, promising to carry out all the prince’s orders. The delighted prince ordered the release of both brothers and placed them among the first persons at his court. John in appearance was like the wicked, fulfilling all their customs and acting according to the will of their prince; in his heart he preserved the Christian faith, secretly praying to Christ God, Whom he did not dare to confess openly, fearing torment. Anthony did not change his Christian customs at all, but openly acted as a true Christian should act. He reproached his brother John for his cowardice and fear and exhorted him in every possible way to repent and, without fear of torment, openly confess Christ again. The pagans, seeing that the elder brother John obeyed the prince in everything, did not pay attention to the younger brother Anthony. One day, when, as usual, these two brothers John and Anthony were with the prince, John ate the meat dishes served to him, although it was a fast day, but blessed Anthony did not want to taste this food, openly professing himself a Christian. Then Anthony, by order of the prince, was again imprisoned; John was despised by everyone - he was not loved by Christians as an apostate, but he was reproached by pagans as a fickle person who did not retain either the old pagan faith or the new Christian faith, which he converted to, leaving paganism. Having realized his great sin, John began to repent with tears of his fall and, coming to the above-mentioned presbyter Nestor, began to pray to him to be an intercessor for him before his brother, so that he would forgive his sin and accept him into fellowship with himself. Having heard his brother’s request from the presbyter, Anthony gave the following answer: – I can have communication with my brother only if he openly professes Christ and the Christian faith. When he does this, then we will have everything in common. John repented and lovingly accepted his brother’s words. Now he began to look for a convenient time when he could openly confess his Christian faith. It happened one day that the prince was washing in the bathhouse, and John was serving him. Seeing that the opportune time had come, John boldly and fearlessly confessed himself to the Christian prince. But the prince had not yet shown his anger to John and did nothing to him, because there was no one else in the bathhouse except them. Then John, after some time, in the presence of numerous nobles of the prince, loudly declared himself a Christian. Immediately, by order of the prince, he was captured and beaten without mercy with various weapons and the hands of everyone who was here; and this beating continued for a considerable time; then the saint was imprisoned. Having learned about what had happened, Blessed Anthony was filled with great joy. The two brothers were again in prison together, praising God; There they were honored to partake of the Most Holy and Life-Giving Mysteries of Christ from the above-mentioned priest. After several years, the holy martyr Anthony was condemned to a shameful death, like a criminal: he was sentenced to hang from a tree. When this was announced to him on the eve of his execution, he remained awake all night before his death, glorifying God in prayer and strengthening his brother to fearlessly endure suffering for Christ. Anthony admonished his brother not to depart from the faith again, and prophetically predicted his imminent death. “After my death,” he said, “and you, brother, after a little time, through the same death, will go to Christ.” When morning came, both brothers received communion of the Divine, Life-Giving Body and Blood of Christ; Around noon, the holy martyr of Christ Anthony was taken out of prison and, by order of the prince, was hanged on a tree on the fourteenth day of the month of January. Thus, the invincible warrior of Christ gave up his holy and immaculate soul into the hands of Christ his God, whom he loved with all his heart. The holy martyr John was left in prison, for the wicked hoped to seduce him again and turn him away from confessing the Christian faith. But when they saw that he firmly preserved the holy faith and fearlessly confessed Christ even in prison, they condemned him to the same death as his brother died. After some time, the pagans killed him (by strangulation) and hung his body on the same tree on which his brother was hanged. This happened in the month of April, on the twenty-fourth day. So this passion-bearer, having completed his martyrdom, went to the Hero of Christ, for whose sake he accepted a martyr’s death. The holy bodies of Anthony and John were buried with honor by the believers and laid in one place. Some time after the death of the holy martyrs Anthony and John, blessed Eustathius also suffered. Although he was young in age, he surpassed many in courage and valor. Although he was beautiful in face, he was even more beautiful in soul and mind. Having come to know the True God, Eustathius rejected pagan atheism and, loving Christ, came to the above-mentioned presbyter Nestor. Taught by him the holy faith, Eustathius received Divine baptism from him 2549. Having become a Christian, Eustathius led a godly life, as befits a true Christian: he spent all his time in fasting, prayer and good deeds. This Eustathius was also in the service of Prince Olgerd. One day Olgerd considered and decided the affairs of his principality, and Eustathius, as befits him according to his position, stood before him. Looking at Eustathius, the prince saw that he had long hair on his head (it should be noted that those pagans who worshiped divine fire had the custom of often cutting their heads and beards in a special way; blessed Eustathius, since he rejected their wicked and insane faith and was baptized, wore long hair on his head). The prince asked him if he was a Christian. When Eustathius, in response to this, openly confessed himself to be a Christian, the prince became very angry and, wanting to turn Eustathius away from the faith of Christ, began to force him to eat meat. The saint not only did not eat what was offered, but did not even want to look at the meat, since then there was fasting before the Feast of the Nativity of Christ and, in addition, it was Friday 2550. Then the prince became even more furious and ordered the holy young man to be beaten without mercy with iron sticks. The saint endured these torments so courageously that he not only did not cry out, but did not even utter a single groan and not a single tear rolled from his eyes; - he only thanked God that He allowed him to suffer for His holy name. Such courageous and patient enduring of the suffering of the saints again brought the prince into extreme anger, and he ordered the coldest water to be poured into the martyr’s mouth (it was a severe winter at that time), so that his body turned blue from the extreme cold. Nevertheless, the saint did not obey the prince’s command and did not taste the meat. Then the prince ordered the martyr to be subjected to more severe torture: they broke and crushed the bones on his legs - on the steps and legs, they tore off the hair from his head along with the skin and cut off his nose and ears. They tortured the saint in this way for three days, however, he did not seem to feel any pain, did not groan, and even his face did not reveal the slightest suffering; He all the time talked lovingly with Christians who cried at the sight of his suffering and told them: - Do not cry, brothers, for me, seeing that my earthly body is fragmented in the midst of torment, for I hope to receive from Christ the Lord our God a body not made by hands, which abides forever in heaven. Meanwhile, the prince, seeing that he could not achieve anything through torture, condemned the martyr to death and ordered him to be hanged on the same tree on which the above-mentioned two holy martyrs, Anthony and John, were hanged in the same year. The servants took Saint Eustathius, already barely alive, and led him to death. The holy martyr Eustathius, despite the fact that his hips, feet and knees were crushed, strengthened by the help of God, walked as if completely healthy, cheerfully and quickly, not only keeping up with those leading him, but even overtaking them. When everyone approached the above-mentioned tree, the torturer’s servants wrapped a rope around the saint’s neck and hanged him. So this sufferer for Christ gave up his holy soul into the hands of God, on the thirteenth day of December 2551. His honest body was left hanging on a tree close to the ground so that animals and birds of prey could eat it, but not a single animal or bird approached the body, for God protected it. Three days later, it was taken intact by the believers and buried with honor, not far from the place where the two holy martyrs mentioned above were buried. It is worthy of note that after the death of the saints, none of the criminals condemned to death were hanged on that tree or buried near it (since God always glorifies His martyrs). Although this place was intended for execution and all those condemned to execution died there, however, after the suffering and death of the saints, not a single criminal was executed in that place. After several years, when the number of Christians in that city increased and the holy faith grew and strengthened day by day, the believers gathered together and, coming to the prince, asked him to give them the place where the three mentioned holy martyrs met their blessed death. The prince, according to God's dispensation, agreed to the requests of the Christians and gave them the requested place. The Christians, having cut down that tree, built a church in its place in the name of the Most Holy Trinity, in honor and glory of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit 2552, and they placed the holy throne in the very place where the tree had previously grown. The relics of the holy martyrs of Christ - Anthony, John and Eustathius - were brought into this church for the glorification of God, glorified in the Holy Trinity, to Whom all glory, honor and worship is due, now and forever. Amen. The city of Vilna was founded in the 12th century, and according to other news, even in the 10th century. But it becomes historically known only in the beginning. XIV century (c. 1323), as the capital of the Grand Duke of Lithuania and Russia Gediminas. Currently, Vilna is a large provincial city with a population of one hundred thousand, belonging to Russia. The worship of fire, generally widespread in ancient times, also took place in pagan Lithuania. It actually consisted of worshiping the god of fire, thunder and lightning - Perun, in whose honor a fairly large church was built in Vilna in 1285. Before the adoption of Christianity, Anthony and John bore pagan names: Nezhilo and Kumets. Olgerd, Prince of Lithuania, reigned from 1341 to 1377. Shortly before taking up his reign, Olgerd converted to Christianity, but did this out of everyday calculations, wanting to take possession of the Principality of Vitebsk, which belonged to the Russian princess Maria Yaroslavna, whom Olgerd married for this purpose. When his wife, a Christian, died (this was around 1346), Olgerd left Christianity and became a pagan again. The holy martyr Eustathius was a relative of saints Anthony and John and before the adoption of Christianity bore the pagan name Kruvlets. Friday (and Wednesday), as a day dedicated by the Holy Church to the remembrance of the Lord's suffering on the cross, according to the church charter should be a day of fasting. The death of Saint Eustathius and the previously mentioned Anthony and John followed in 1347. The relics of the holy martyrs currently rest in the Vilna Holy Spirit Monastery, where they were transferred in 1826. You might be interested in: