Страдание святого мученика Иоанна Нового

The birthplace of Blessed John was the city of Ioannina 2628, located in the Greek region called Epirus 2629. This city was once the permanent residence of the Greek king Pyrrhus 2630. Saint John's parents were pious Christians. Left an orphan after their death at a young age, John came to Constantinople with the intention of earning himself the necessary means of living here through the labor of his hands. Here, like other artisans and merchants, he had a place in the public square and thus supported himself with his craft, having abundance in everything necessary. God prospered him in all his deeds, since he led a virtuous life and strictly fulfilled the law of God. He was nicknamed "Epirate" by the inhabitants of Constantinople, as he was from Epirus. At that time, Constantinople was already under the rule of Muslims 2631 who professed the Mohammedan faith. Many Christians, seduced by Mohammedan wickedness, deviated into Mohammedanism; in particular, there were many artisans and merchants who had previously professed the Christian faith, but then converted to Mohammedanism. A true Christian, Blessed John, had to live among such and such people. On all sides his neighbors in trade were apostates who rejected Christ and joined Mohammedanism; John often openly argued with them, exposing their apostasy, since he was a reasonable young man, bold in speech, who spoke for the truth without fear. For all this, John's neighbors began to hate him. They were also dissatisfied because they saw success in the saint’s trading affairs. Since John was gaining more and more success in trade matters, other merchants and artisans began to envy him and began to plot what kind of accusation could be brought against him in order to destroy him. Blessed John, seeing the intrigues being plotted against him, was not afraid of them, but even more strongly, with all his soul, desired to suffer for the truth of Christ. And so, having gone one day on Good Friday 2632 to his spiritual father, the Protopresbyter of Constantinople, he confessed his sins to him, and also informed him of the enmity of his neighbors who were angry with him and who were seeking his death, he also conveyed his desire to suffer for Christ and asked his spiritual father for his useful advice and consolation. Seeing the saint’s young years, the protopresbyter did not advise him to surrender to torment, telling him: “Child, first examine carefully whether the devil has instilled such a thought in you: after all, the devil incited many people to martyrdom, intending to hand them over to the shame of the whole world, after they were unable to endure the torment and fell away from the faith. Saint John answered him: “I trust in my Christ and firmly believe that He will not give me over to be mocked by my enemies, but will strengthen me with His strength so that I will be able to defeat the power of the enemy.” “Son,” the protopresbyter said to this, “the word of God says: “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). The work you are going to undertake requires a lot of preparation, requires incessant fasting and prayers; when you are cleansed from all sin through the feats of fasting and prayer, then God Himself will tell you what to do, for God usually dwells in pure souls. So, beloved, pay attention to yourself and go in peace, and I will pray to God that He will preserve you from all your visible and invisible enemies - from people and demons, and give you victory over them. Having said this, the protopresbyter released the young man in peace. The next day in the morning, blessed John again with a bright face and joyful spirit appeared to his spiritual father and said to him: - Honest father! Last night I saw myself in a dream standing in the middle of a flame, and not being scorched, but having fun and rejoicing, like the three youths in the Babylonian furnace (See: Dan.3). So, I hope that the business I am planning, with the help of the Almighty, will reach a successful conclusion. I beg you too, honest father: strengthen me with your prayers! The spiritual father said to him: “May God strengthen you, child, to defeat the wolf of hell,” I mean the invisible serpent, “and may He grant you the crown of martyrdom.” Having strengthened the young man with many other kind words for his feat, the protopresbyter released him, promising to pray to God for him. When blessed John came to the market to his shop, his haters, having drawn up a plan for his death in advance, began to say to each other: – Is this man not the same one who openly rejected Christ in Trikka 2633; Why does he behave here like a true Christian? Hearing these words, the young man looked menacingly at the speakers and asked them: “Are you talking about me or maybe someone else?” “About you,” they answered, “and not about anyone else, and aren’t we telling the truth?” “It has never happened to me and never will happen,” answered the saint, “for me to renounce Christ my God, whether in Trikka or in any other place.” I live and will always live for Christ my God, and I am always ready to die for Him. Having become very furious at such words of the saint, his enemies quickly rushed towards him, as if ready to kill him right away, and immediately dragged him to the judgment seat. The holy youth walked hastily, his face shining, as if going to a feast. When the saint was brought before the judgment seat, his enemies appeared here as slanderers, witnesses, and judges of the saint. They accused him only of the fact that in the Thessalian city of Trikka he allegedly openly rejected Christ and accepted the Mohammedan faith, and when he came to Constantinople, he again pretended to be a Christian and blasphemed the Mohammedans. Beginning the interrogation, the saint’s enemies first of all began to show feigned and hypocritical compassion for him, as if pitying him, and began to gently exhort him to renounce Christ. Then, seeing that he stood unshakably in the Christian faith, they began to intimidate him into renouncing Christianity with threats, but having achieved nothing in this way, they began to beat him mercilessly, after which they threw him into prison, intending to keep him here until they decided what to do with him next. The next morning, having brought the saint out of prison, his wicked judges began to ask him whether he had decided to renounce Christ and accept their faith. But seeing that he still adamantly professed Christianity, they again began to beat him without mercy with thick sticks. The saint, like a hard adamant, silently endured the beatings inflicted on him, as if they were beating not him, but someone else. He just quietly prayed to God, saying: – I will not renounce my faith for anything in the world; It will never happen to me that I would begin to believe differently, and not in the way that is appropriate for a Christian; I will never be seduced by caresses or overcome by torment. Do with me what you want, so that I can quickly move from this short-term life to eternal life. As Christ's servant, I follow Christ and die for Christ in order to live with Him forever. The unrighteous judges ordered the saint to be thrown into prison again. Now they no longer led the martyr, but dragged him along the ground, tore him by the hair, hit him on the cheeks and trampled underfoot. Finally, he was again placed in bonds. The next day the saint was again brought to trial, but since he boldly continued to say the same thing as before, they again began to beat him without mercy. While he was being beaten, the martyr joyfully sang the church hymn “Christ is risen from the dead!” 2634 and so on, for then it was Easter days. The saint’s entire body was ulcerated with wounds, and the ground around him was stained with blood. Meanwhile, the holy martyr suffered as if not with his own body, but during his torment he either sang or turned to his tormentors with the words: - Beat, beat me, with all your strength, beat and increase the beatings as much as you can: but nevertheless, you will never be able to turn me away from my Christ and make me your like-minded person. After this, being ashamed, the tormentors again threw the martyr into prison and here they tormented him for several days with hunger and thirst, then they took him out of prison again and, seeing that, despite all the torment, he did not betray the faith of Christ, they condemned him to be burned. When the saint, chained with iron chains, was led to death, “like a sheep to the slaughter” (Is. 53:7), then during the journey his tormentors beat him with their hands, hitting him in the face, and insulted him with abusive words; but some of those who were here expressed their condolences to him and asked him not to ruin his youth. But the martyr of Christ went to his death with great triumph, as if preparing to receive some great honors. Finally, Saint John reached the place where the tormentors had built a large fire. The saint, without waiting for him to be thrown onto the fire, courageously entered it himself and stood in the very flames. Then the tormentors, grabbing the end of the chain with which Saint John was bound, pulled him out of the flames. The holy martyr said to the tormentors: “Why don’t you let me burn in the flames?” Why are you preventing me from becoming a sacrifice acceptable to Christ? Then the judges, although they knew that death by burning by fire was very painful, but since the saint himself strongly desired such a death, they changed their decision and condemned the saint to death not by burning, but by beheading with a sword. They ordered the executioner to cut off the head of the invincible young man, and then throw the severed head and body into the fire. Thus, the holy new martyr of Christ John the Epirates received the crown of martyrdom on the eighteenth day of the month of April 2635. Despite the fact that the saint's body was burned at the stake, believers found some parts of his bones that survived the fire; having taken them, they reverently kept them with them, glorifying Christ our God, praised with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever. Amen. The city of Ioannina or Ioannina was located in Epirus, between Trikka of Thessalonica and Ambrakiea of ​​Epirus, to the south. Epirus is the eastern part of northern Greece, stretching from the Acrokerano Mountains to the Ambrocian Gulf of the Ionian Sea. Pyrrhus, king of Epirus from 295 to 272 BC. This king is famous for his wars against Rome and Sparta. Constantinople was taken by the Muslims in 1453. Trikka is a city in Thessaly, a region in northeastern Greece. The death of the holy martyr followed in 1526. You might be interested in: