Страдание святых мучеников Александра и Антонины

During one of the persecutions of Christians, when many believers in Christ were killed after various torments, a long time after the beginning of the persecution, one Christian maiden, named Antonina, who came from the city of Crodamna 3822, was captured and brought to the cruel ruler Fist. For her pious and virtuous life, the Lord vouchsafed her to accept martyrdom, for shame and victory over the evil devil. When the virgin Antonina was brought to the cruel ruler Fist, he began to seduce her with many crafty words, telling her like this: “Lady Antonina, I want you, a pure and chaste maiden, to make you a priestess of the goddess Artemis 3823, give you many gifts and honors and make you the manager of all my property.” Saint Antonina did not answer anything for a long time to this proposal of Fist, but then she said: “Why do you promise me vain gifts? It’s better that you yourself, Fist, share my riches with me, so that through faith in my Lord Jesus Christ you can receive the treasures of eternal blessings.” “Let it not happen,” Fist objected, “what you say, may the gods save me from this, so that I do not believe in such a God, or better yet, a Man who was nailed to the cross and died on it!” Saint Antonina answered this to Fist: “I do not conceal the fact that our Lord Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross and after death was placed in a tomb, but I also proclaim about Him that He rose from the dead on the third day and now sits at the right hand of God His Father, as it is written in our books: “The Lord said to my Lord, Sit on My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool” (Ps. 109:1 ). “All your lengthy speeches are false,” said Fist. “Why don’t you agree to obey me and make a sacrifice to our gods in order to enjoy all the blessings that exist in the world?” “I will not worship such soulless gods,” answered the holy virgin, “for they are demons, as it is written about in the law of my Lord: “For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord created the heavens” (Ps. 96:5). “How dare you,” cried Fist, “call our gods demons?” “Yes, that’s what I call them,” answered Saint Antonina, “because there is no power in them; you will not receive any help from them - truly they are not gods, but demons. From these words of Saint Antonina, Fist became very angry and ordered the soldiers to hit her hard on the cheeks so that she would not be so daring. Then he addressed her again with these words: “I swear by the gods that if you do not fulfill the royal command, I, after the most severe torment, will order you to be taken to an indecent house - and thereby condemn you to the greatest shame.” Therefore, I give you three days to think about it - will you completely refuse to fulfill my order, or will you want to repent and make a sacrifice to the gods? After all, many who share your faith at first did the same as you, but then changed their thoughts and worshiped our gods. Then Saint Antonina said to the ruler: – Do what you want, wicked tormentor! After this, the saint was given into the custody of four soldiers, with whom she went to prison with joy in her soul and a cheerful face. The governor, having secretly summoned the chief of the prison guard, ordered him not to cause any offense to the holy virgin, but with gentle words to persuade her to renounce the Christian faith and sacrifice to idols, because, Fist added, it is very difficult to force Christians to renounce their faith. When the chief of the prison guard put the saint in prison, he came to her and began to convince her with these words: - Pure maiden Antonina, why do you persist? Why don't you want to change your thoughts? Make a sacrifice to our gods to free you from the torment that awaits you. But the saint did not answer him, so the prison guard was very surprised and perplexed why the holy virgin did not answer him a word. And Saint Antonina, kneeling on the ground, prayed to the Lord God day and night, remaining all the time without food. After three days of Saint Antonina’s stay in prison, a strong thunder suddenly rang out: the prison locks collapsed and the doors opened by themselves, inside the entire prison a strong light illuminated and a voice was heard from heaven, saying: “Get up, Antonina, and refresh yourself with food, taste the bread and water, be courageous and do not be at all afraid of the wicked ruler Fistus, because I am with you.” The saint, having finished her prayers, said: Then, getting up from her knees, she ate bread and water and lay down to sleep for a while. When the next day arrived, the ruler sat down in his judicial seat and said: “Bring that daring woman to me, so we can find out her thoughts.” The soldiers, fulfilling the ruler's orders, brought the saint to him. When the holy virgin was led to trial, she raised her eyes to heaven and prayed. - I thank You, Lord my God, that You are fulfilling Your will on me, I pray to You - do not leave me even until my death. And suddenly a voice was heard from heaven, proclaiming. - Go on your journey fearlessly, for I am with you! When the holy virgin Antonina was brought to the judge's seat where Fist was sitting, she laughed. Fist, seeing that she laughed, asked her: “I will tell you the reason for my laughter, for I see that the throne on which you are sitting will soon be destroyed and you will perish - that’s why I laughed.” The ruler, seeing that she was laughing at him, ordered her to be beaten with whips. The saint, raising her spiritual eyes to heaven, prayed like this: “I thank You, Lord my God, that You have vouchsafed me, accursed and sinful, to share the lot of Your saints; but quickly cast this lawless man and he who sheds innocent blood to the bottom of hell, so that he may recognize the powerlessness of his false gods, on whom he places all his hope.” Hearing such words, the ruler, thirsty for human blood, became even more furious and said to the soldiers: “This evil and impudent woman not only dares to insult our gods, but also threatens us ourselves; Therefore, take her to an indecent house to be desecrated.” The soldiers then took the saint and took her to a separate house. Saint Antonina, left alone in a separate room, began to fervently pray to God. At this time, the Angel of the Lord appeared to one of the ruler’s soldiers, twenty-three years old from birth and called Alexander. Appearing to him, the Angel said: “Go to the governor and tell him to allow you to enter Antonina. When you go up to her, then dress her with your cloak and let her leave that house, so that the evil ruler does not recognize her.” The valiant warrior of Christ, fulfilling the command of the Angel, came to the ruler and began to ask him: “Let me enter Antonina and if I persuade her, then free her, and if not, then do with her what you wish.” The ruler agreed to fulfill his request and told him: “Do with her whatever you wish.” Then Alexander went into the room where the holy virgin was, fell at her feet and began to say to her: “Servant of the Lord, Virgin Antonina! The Lord sent me to you to reveal to you (as He told me) that your virginity will be preserved.” The saint was afraid. But suddenly a strong light illuminated the room and a voice was heard saying: “Don’t be afraid, Antonina! He who called you to feat is generous and abundantly merciful, and this Alexandra calls you to the same feat of martyrdom. Dress in his cloak, bow your head and hide your face, and get out of here so that the ruler in this form does not recognize you. I’ll hide you so much that he won’t recognize you!” Then Saint Antonina took his cloak from Alexander and put it on herself, covered her head and, leaving the house, made a sign with her hand to the ruler, as if saying: do as you wish. Thus, the holy virgin of Christ, like a chamois escaping the snares, went her way, rejoicing at her deliverance. The ruler, thinking that it was Alexander who had left the house, sent four more soldiers to Antonina, telling them: “Go to her and do with her what you please, and having outraged her, take her out, so that she will receive great dishonor and we will all laugh at her.” The soldiers, fulfilling the orders of the ruler, entered to desecrate the maiden, did not find Her, but saw only Alexander alone. Greatly surprised, they asked him: “Where is that woman? Why are you alone? They then took him, brought him to the ruler and said: “We found only him alone in that room, but the girl was not there.” The ruler was also very surprised by what had happened and began to ask Alexander: “Tell us, infidel and deceiver, how did you dare to deceive us? Where is that wicked harlot? You dishonored her, and then, dressing her with your cloak, you sent her away, wanting to take her as your wife; but this will not happen, and you will not escape my wrath.” When Alexander did not answer the ruler, he thought for a long time, and then ordered to hang him for torture and beat him without mercy. When they carried out the governor’s command and beat Saint Alexander, the governor asked him again: “Where is that wicked woman to whom you went?” Alexander again did not answer, but only directed his eyes to the sky. And suddenly a voice was heard from heaven saying to the ruler: – Cruel Fist, why are you torturing an innocent person? Hearing this voice, the ruler ordered to stop torturing the saint, and, having removed the martyr from the tree, he was taken to prison, and he ordered that the holy virgin Antonina be searched everywhere. After five days, the governor again ordered Alexander to be brought to him for trial, and began to ask him: -What are you thinking? Will you make a sacrifice to the gods or not? Saint Alexander answered the ruler: “Can I change my thoughts, O wicked and cruel tormentor!” -Where is the woman you went in to? – asked Fist. “I don’t know where she is,” answered Alexander. Meanwhile, while they were talking like this, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself appeared to Saint Antonina the Virgin and said: - Take courage and go to where the unjust and cruel ruler was. Then the saint went and, fearlessly appearing before the ruler, said to him: “Wicked and cruel Fist, who are you looking for, isn’t it me?” So I myself appear to you to shame and destroy your strength. Seeing the saint, Fist became very angry and ordered the soldiers to hang her, beat her severely and ask: The saint, under the strong blows, did not utter a single groan. When she was taken down from the tree, the ruler himself began to ask her: was she still a virgin or not? Then the holy martyr answered the ruler: - O wicked and cruel tormentor! We Christians are not at all enslaved by your unclean lust, for the Lord and our God, in His mercy, preserved me innocent. Fist looked at her in surprise and said; “If you are still a virgin, then come up with Alexander, make a sacrifice to our gods, and you will remain unharmed.” To this proposal of the ruler, the holy martyrs of Christ Alexander and the Virgin Antonina answered the ruler with their lips alone: “There is no such torment, cruel Fist, with which you could force us to worship your vile gods, who have neither reason nor power. After such an answer from the holy martyrs, the governor ordered their hands to be cut off. The valiant and noble warriors of Christ then stretched out their hands to cut off and said: - First of all, wicked and cruel tormentor, let it be known to you that no amount of torment can defeat our pious thoughts - do with us as you wish! The soldiers drew their swords and cut off the hands of the holy martyrs. They, as if not feeling pain, glorified the Lord and, then turning to the ruler, said to him: “Cruel and most vile ruler! We do not at all feel the torment that you inflicted on us, but our Lord, whose servants we are, will soon cast you into fiery hell, where you will suffer eternal torment.” From such denunciations of the holy martyrs, the ruler became extremely furious and ordered to dig a deep hole, and first of all, hang the holy sufferers and beat them until they felt pain from the blows inflicted on them. He ordered to throw a lot of firewood and brushwood into the pit so that it was filled to the top and to burn the holy martyrs in it. Meanwhile, despite the severe beatings, they did not feel any pain, as if it were not their bodies that were subjected to such torture, but they gave praise to the Lord Jesus Christ. Seeing this, the ruler ordered to torment them with new torments, scorching their ribs with burning candles. Then the holy martyrs Alexander and Antonina cried out to the ruler in a loud voice: “Wicked Fist! We endure our suffering for the sake of love for our Lord Jesus Christ, firmly believing that in the future life, after this temporary one, we will receive an eternal reward in the Kingdom of Heaven, and our Lord and God will soon give you up to destruction for making His innocent servants suffer so much!” Fist, hearing these words, in great rage gave the following order to his servants: “Light the wood in the pit so that you can quickly throw these people into the fire.” When the ruler’s order was carried out by the soldiers, then the cruel tormentor ordered them to pour tar on the holy martyrs and throw them into a pit that was blazing with fire. At the same time, he ordered dry resin to be placed on top of the firewood so that the martyrs would be completely burned and even their bones would turn to dust. After the execution was carried out, the ruler ordered that the hole be covered with earth, saying: “Let it not be possible for women to collect them and their bones, as is the custom among Christians!” By order of Fist, the holy martyrs were thrown into the fire and that pit was filled up. Then Fist returned to his home, but could not taste either food or drink and became dumb, for the evil spirit sent to him by the holy Angels tormented him for seven days. After severe seven-day demonic torment, the ruler cast out his wicked soul. So he died, and the persecution of Christians in those places stopped. The blessed death of the holy martyrs Alexander and Antonina followed on the third day of the month of May 3824, on Saturday, at the ninth hour of the day, into the dominion of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom honor and glory are given forever. Amen. The city of Krodamn was located in the Asia Minor region of Thrace. Artemis or Diana is the Greco-Roman goddess of light and the moon. The death of the holy martyrs followed on May 3, 313, but the narrative of their lives is offered under June 10 because it is placed under this date in the prologues. Their venerable relics were subsequently transferred to Constantinople and placed in the Maximov Monastery. You might be interested in: