Страдание святого мученика Зосимы воина

While the Roman state was ruled by Emperor Trajan 4054, the Greeks, as is known, were still enveloped in idolatry and great spiritual blindness - and therefore, during his reign, a fierce persecution was soon instituted against the Church of God. At this time, among the Hellenes lived a certain famous man named Domitian - hegemon of Antioch of Pisidia 4055; Having once come to King Trajan, he asked to give him power over Christians, so that everyone who does not want to make a sacrifice to the gods would be forced to do so through severe torment. Having received such power from the king and putting on the devil’s armor, he, like a lion, flared up with anger at those who decided to firmly maintain their faith in Christ to the end. Once passing through the country of Sozopol, he once approached a city called Apollonia 4056. In this city there lived a certain Hellenic warrior named Zosima, who always strived to become a follower of the Christian faith. Hearing about the approach of the hegemon and about the approaching persecution, he, taking off his military weapons, decided to join the holy church and, having learned faith in Christ and having received holy baptism, began to strive for Christian virtues and practice purity and chastity, fasting and prayers. A few days later, after Hegemon Domitian came to that city, one of the idolaters approached him and said: – In this city lives a certain warrior named Zosima, who despises the king and your power; he rejected the military rank with which King Trajan had invested him, and threw off his weapons; he calls himself a Christian and considers our gods to be nothing; he also abhors the royal laws and despises the royal power. Hearing this, the hegemon said: - Bring this Zosima here to the trial. Then the royal guards, by order of the hegemon, went to Zosima, seized him and brought him to trial. The hegemon, seeing him, asked: - I am Zosima, servant of my Lord Jesus Christ. After this, the hegemon said: “First of all, tell me what rank you are in, and then tell me whose slave you are.” – By rank I was a warrior of your earthly king, but I rejected your most destructive gods and became a warrior of the Heavenly King, Christ, the true God. “O most lawless one,” Domitian said then, “the name of Christ will not help you, but you better make a sacrifice to the gods, and your sin against our king Trajan, who honored you with military rank, will be forgiven you.” “I will never sacrifice to your gods.” After this, Domitian ordered the soldier of Christ to be taken to prison. The next morning, the saint, his hands tied back, was again brought to the trial seat, and the hegemon ordered him to be hanged on the martyrdom tree. When the martyr was hanged, Domitian said to him: - Wicked Zosima, make a sacrifice to the gods, otherwise all your members will now be subjected to cruel torment. “Not only words, but even wounds cannot convince me to make a sacrifice to your gods.” Then the hegemon ordered his cruel soldiers to mercilessly beat the holy martyr. When they began to torture Saint Zosima, he said to the hegemon: “Your servants labor in vain, for the Lord strengthens me, and I do not feel the wounds inflicted on me.” And they tortured the saint for a long time, so that the earth was already stained with his blood. Finally, the martyr cried out loudly to the Lord: - Lord God Almighty, who sits on the throne of His glory, who created the sky, founded the earth and gathered the waters into one place, is our hope and the hope of Your servants, hear me praying to You, and do not allow me to be overcome by threats of torment or torment itself, so that all who do not believe Your name, through me, may know You, the One true God! While the saint was praying, suddenly a voice was heard from heaven: - Take courage, Zosima, for I am with you, and nothing will overcome you. And Domitian and all who were with him heard this voice, and some even exclaimed: “This is not a sorcerer, but a servant of Christ his God, and truly great is the Christian God, from Whom this voice was now sent down!” Then the hegemon ordered four soldiers to forcefully stretch the saint in a cross shape on the ground; The sufferer of Christ, already exhausted, raised his eyes to heaven and said: - Lord my God, who understands the thoughts of men, the hope of Christians, refuge and peace for those in trouble! Deliver me from the destructive deceit of the unservant Domitian, so that all those who come will know You that You are the living God, existing before all ages, and that You have existed from eternity. And at that time, many of the people ahead, marveling at such great patience of the martyr, believed in Christ; The hegemon, seeing all this and fearing that everyone would turn to the Christian faith, ashamed, furious and even gnashing his teeth, began to think about how to destroy the servant of Christ by what cruel death. Finally, he ordered to bring a copper bed and lay a strong fire under it in order to burn the martyr over it. When this bed was very hot, he ordered the holy passion-bearer to be laid on it naked. And as soon as Zosima, having made the sign of the cross on himself, ascended to the bed, the Lord immediately turned the fire into dew; for through His Angels He condescended to help the martyr. And while everyone present thought that the martyr had died from a fierce fire, the Angels of the Lord, raising the saint from his bed, in full view of everyone, placed him near the bed alive and not at all damaged by the flame. The people, seeing such a miracle, glorified the true God, who, having sent His holy angels, delivered His servant from such fire; and many then turned to the faith of Christ. The hegemon, rising from his seat of judgement, went home in shame, and ordered the martyr to be taken and kept in custody. Soon after this, Hegemon Domitian, going to the city of Kononeysky 4057, ordered the martyr Zosima to be brought along bound with him, in order to kill him there in agony. Arriving in this city and sitting down at the judgment seat, he ordered that the martyr be put on iron sandals, which were filled with sharp nails, and tied with an iron chain to young unbroken horses so that he would follow them. The saint, being tied to those horses, wearing iron sandals with nails, ran so fast that it seemed that he was even driving the horses: for the Lord was with him, helping him. At the same time, the saint said this: - Lord God, who gives my feet the speed of a deer, grant me patience to the end! The hegemon, seeing such patience of the martyr, ordered to imprison him and not give him any food or drink, so that he would die of hunger and thirst. After three days, during which the saint remained without food or drink, two beautiful young men entered prison; of them, one carried clean bread, and the other carried water in a vessel; and they said to the saint: - Accept this precious gift sent to you from the Lord your God. The martyr of Christ, taking it, ate and drank, and having strengthened his body, he cried out to the Lord: “I thank You, Lord, that You had mercy on me and did not despise me, but filled me with Your heavenly bread and drink; I praise and glorify Your majesty forever, amen. The next day, the hegemon, again sitting in the judgment seat, ordered the martyr of Christ to be brought to him. The saint appeared with a bright face; his mind at that time was entirely directed towards the Lord. The hegemon was surprised to see the martyr without any change in his face after such torment, and said to him: - O Zosima, since you have now apparently come to your senses, make a sacrifice to the gods so that you no longer suffer wounds and die a cruel death. “You, if you want, make sacrifices to demons like you, and I, as I said before, serve my God alone.” After this, the angry hegemon ordered the martyr to be hanged on the tree again and at the same time said to him: “Do you see, wretched one, how many torments you are subjected to?” Will you still not listen to me and make sacrifices to the gods? – He who loves the living God does not count these torments as anything. And the hegemon ordered to plan the body of the martyr with iron combs. The holy martyr, enduring all these sufferings, cried out to God in a loud voice: “Now I especially recognize the mercy of Your benevolence, Christ, Creator of light, since You strengthened me to courageously endure everything and not even reveal suffering with a word, so that in my torment we would understand even more the power of Your Divinity. When the saint said this, the governor ordered him to be removed from the tree of torment and again placed before him; when this was done, he said to him: – You endured a lot of torment for the sake of your Christ, and yet you did not receive any relief; So, go ahead and make a sacrifice to the gods now. - O Domitian, most cruel, inhuman and full of all wickedness tormentor! Fear the heavenly God, abandon your delusion and do not call idols gods: after all, they are demons, not gods. “Do you, most lawless man, dare to call our gods demons, gods whom the whole world celebrates on certain days?” - Those festive rejoicings that are now offered to your gods, in hell, may they later be rewarded to you, and your king, and all those who believe in them. After this, the ruler again ordered Saint Zosima to be hanged on a martyrdom tree and his belly to be scorched with lighted candles. Then the martyr said to the ruler: - Not only my womb, but also my whole body, - and yet you will never defeat me, for Christ who strengthens me is with me: I even want to be killed by you, since this is my glory before Christ if I die for Him. Not knowing what else to do with the martyr, the ruler finally condemned him to death, namely, to behead his head with an axe. When Saint Zosima was led to the place of execution, he prayed to the Lord like this: - My God! Look upon me, a sinner, and accept my soul with those who have pleased You from all eternity, for You are my glory and praise from now and forever and ever. When the martyr approached the place where they were usually executed, he was beheaded with a sword, laying down his honorable head for his Christ. This happened on June 19, in the city of Kononea, - while Trajan reigned in Rome, and our Lord Jesus Christ reigned over us, Christians, - to Him be glory and power forever and ever, amen. Reigned from 89 to 117. Pisidia is a region in the south of Asia Minor, next to Cilicia. In Thrace, near Pontus; In this city, by the way, there was a church in honor of Apollo, with a colossal statue of him. In the Byzantine era it was known as Sozopolis. Nowadays it is an insignificant place called Sidzeboli. In Pisidia, on the way to Persia. You might be interested in: