Страдание святого мученика Фалалея

During the reign of Numerian 3324, Hegemon Theodore launched a persecution against the Church of God in the city of Aegean 3325 and put the faithful servants of Christ to death of various kinds. At this time, a Christian youth named Falalei, beautiful in face and physique, with blond hair, about eighteen years old, was also taken by the torturers, a doctor by profession who treated all sorts of diseases for free. The young man was brought before the wicked judgment seat in the Church of Hadrian 3326. Looking at him and surprised at his beauty, the hegemon said to those around him: -Where did you find this handsome young man? – Walking to the city of Anazar 3327, we saw him ahead of us; He, noticing us, quickly disappeared into the oak grove. We began to diligently look for him and barely found him sitting under a wild olive tree; then we took him and brought him to you for judgment. - Tell us, young man: what faith are you, what city are you from, who are your parents and what is your name? - I am a Christian, my name is Falalei, originally from Lebanon 3328, my father, named Berukiy, was a governor; my mother's name is Romilia; I also have a brother who is a member of the church clergy, in the rank of subdeacon; I learned the art of medicine from the doctor Macarius. When all the Christians living in Lebanon fled to the mountains and deserts due to persecution from the pagans, I was taken and brought to the Edessa 3329 hegemon Tiberius; being tormented by him, I confessed the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the true and all-good God, the Creator of all, and with the help of my Lord I was delivered from the hands of the tormentors and fled: now, having been taken again, I am in your power. Do with me what you want, for it is fitting for me to die for Christ, the heavenly God, my Savior. “Do you, wretched one, hope to escape my hands, just as you escaped the hands of the Tiberians?” “I don’t want to run anymore, for I believe in my Lord Jesus Christ and I hope in Him that He will not allow me to be put to shame, but will help me endure torment to the end.” Near the saint stood two executioners, Alexander and Asterius; The hegemon ordered them to drill through the martyr's shins and thread a rope through the hole and hang him. But according to God’s dispensation, their spiritual eyes were opened and, instead of the saint, they drilled and hung a tree. One of the believers, a disciple of Saint Thalaley, named Timothy, who stood there and saw everything that was happening, nodded his head to the saint, saying: – Do you see what they are doing? - Be quiet, brother; Christ is with me, helping me. The hegemon, looking, saw not the martyr, but a hanging tree, and said to the executioners: -What did you do? I told you to hang a man, and you hang a tree? And, angry, the hegemon, thinking that they were mocking him, ordered them both to be beaten without mercy. They, being struck, said: – Blessed be the name of the Lord, because from now on we too become Christians, for we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and suffer for Him! Hearing such words, the hegemon immediately ordered them to be beheaded with a sword, and they, having died suffering, received crowns from Christ God along with the other holy martyrs. The hegemon said to Saint Thalaley: - Make a sacrifice to the gods and you will live and taste the blessings of this world. – You cannot convince the servant of Christ to sacrifice to demons. The hegemon, filled with rage, wanted to drill the saint’s shins himself, but at that moment, when he wanted to get up from his place, he felt that his strength had weakened and he could not rise from his place. And all the pagans who were in Hadrian’s temple, seeing what had happened, exclaimed loudly, saying: - Great is the Christian God, who works such miracles! The hegemon, filled with shame, began to ask the martyr, saying: “Pray to your God for me, Falalei, so that I can rise from my place, because your God is truly great.” When the saint prayed, the hegemon stood up, but, seeing in this not Divine power, but the magic of Falaley, he became very angry with the saint, gnashing his teeth. Then, grabbing a drill, he himself began to drill the martyr’s legs, but his hands immediately withered. The hegemon again appealed to the martyr, saying: “Again, I ask you, Falalei, pray for me, so that my hands can be healed.” The saint, through his prayer, gave healing to his hands. Then the hegemon said to those around him: “Take this sorcerer from my sight and drown him in the depths of the sea so that he may perish.” – You started an investigation about me; therefore, you must finish it. - Get away from me, sorcerer, and perish somewhere else; for I have not yet done you any harm, and you have already caused me so much harm with your magic! “Do not think, tormentor, that I would be afraid of your threat and reject my God; know that in no case will I make a sacrifice to your gods; I will not bow to the demons you serve. At these words, the hegemon’s servants took the saint and, putting him in a boat, went with him to the very middle of the sea and drowned him there. Being drowned, the saint made the following prayer to God: - My God! Do not let me die now, because I still want to suffer for Your holy name, so that, having accomplished an even greater feat of martyrdom, I will receive from You an imperishable crown in eternal life. The servants who returned after drowning the martyr said to the hegemon: “We did what you commanded us: we threw Falalei into the sea and he sank before our eyes. But while the servants were still saying this to the hegemon, Saint Falaley came, dressed in white clothes. The hegemon and everyone who was with him, seeing the saint, were greatly amazed. And the hegemon said to the saint: - Your magic has overcome the sea! – Where is the strength and power of your gods now? Where is your pride? Behold, my Lord, Jesus Christ, destroyed your plans and did not let me die, so that I could still defeat the devil, your father. The hegemon became angry and said to those around him: - Look how this sorcerer has bewitched the sea and is blaspheming us; if we let him go like this, he will destroy us all with his witchcraft. Under the hegemon there was one sorcerer named Urvikiy; he gave advice to the hegemon, saying: - Order, lord, to give him to be devoured by wild beasts. And immediately the hegemon, calling the guard who was feeding the animals, ordered him to prepare a place for the spectacle, and said to the saint: “Falalei, will you make a sacrifice to the gods, or do you want your body to become food for the beasts?” The holy martyr answered this: – Have you not yet known the power and greatness of my Lord and God Jesus Christ? I will declare to you in prophetic words: “The Right Hand of the Lord is high, the Right Hand of the Lord creates power! I will not die, but I will live and proclaim the works of the Lord” (Ps. 118:16-17). Then they took the saint to the square and handed him over to be torn to pieces by wild beasts. But the animals did not touch the saint. One fierce bear came up to him, lay down at his feet and began to lick them. Seeing this, the hegemon gnashed his teeth and roared like a lion in rage. Then he ordered a hungry lion and also a lioness to be released on him, but they, too, approached, fell at the feet of the martyr and licked them. The hegemon tore his clothes out of rage, and the people began to shout loudly, saying: - Great is the Christian God! God Falaleya, have mercy on us! Having seized Urviki the sorcerer, they threw him to the beasts, and he was immediately torn to pieces and eaten by them. The hegemon, rising from his place, ordered the martyr to be killed with a sword. And the holy martyr was brought for beheading to a specially prepared place called Edessa, and after prayer he died on the twentieth day of May, 3330, in honor and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, glorified with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always and unto the ages of ages. Amen. You were a martyr, a fellow-sufferer and an armorer, a great warrior of the King of glory, you trampled down the exaltation of idolaters with temptations and torments: for this reason, for the sake of your honor, I sing to your honorable memory, wise Thalalea. The Roman Emperor Numerian reigned from 283 to 284. Aegea or Aegis is a seaside city in Cilicia, a region of Asia Minor. With the name Ayaskala it has survived to this day. Those. in a church built in honor of Emperor Hadrian (reigned from 117 to 138). It should be noted that the ancient Romans had the custom of building churches in honor of their emperors, as well as placing their statues in churches and squares. The city of Anazar was located in Cilicia. Lebanon is a mountain in Syria; belongs to that mountain system that begins with the Sinai, stretches north through Arabia, Palestine and Syria parallel to the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and adjoins the Taurus. Lebanon forms the middle, highest part of this mountain system. Edessa is a city in Macedonia. The death of Saint Falaley followed in 284. You might be interested in: