Страдание святого мученика Неофита

In the city of Bithynia Nicaea 875 there lived a man named Theodulus, who had a wife Florence. Both of them were God-fearing Christians and reverently kept the commandments of God. They had a son, whom they named Neophyte. Having enlightened him with holy baptism, they raised him as Christians. As the boy grew in years and intelligence and, approaching the age of ten, began to study at school, the grace of God was infused into him, from the lips of infants praising Christ (cf. Ps. 8:3; Matt. 21:16.), for the Holy Spirit “breathes where he will” (John 3:8): the boy became a miracle worker. He had this custom: when the children were sent home from school, the blessed youth Neophytos took home with him the poorest children, his peers, and divided among them the food that he received from his parents for lunch, but he himself remained hungry. Then he went to the eastern gate of the city, drew a cross there with his finger and, worshiping it, prayed to Christ God, crucified for us on the Cross. His companions, having had their fill from his dinner, came to him while he was praying at the eastern gate. There was a stone in the wall. Hitting this stone with his hand, the blessed Neophyte brought out water for his companions, as if from a spring, and they drank. The holy youth did this all the days, feeding his peers with dinner and miraculously giving them water to drink from the stone. At the same time, he forbade them to tell anyone about this, and they did not tell. Thus, no one learned about his miracles this year, not even his parents, but only those poor youths. The next year, Neophyte's mother Florence, filled with special love for God, was revealed by God in a dream vision that her son was bringing water out of a stone, like Moses, and giving water to the thirsty youths. She, having risen from sleep, prayed to God that He would reveal to her in detail everything about her son Neophyte. And then a white dove, shining with indescribable light, flew from the heavenly heights. Sitting down on Neophyte’s bed, the dove addressed him with human speech: “I was sent,” he said, from the Savior to keep your bed immaculate. Hearing this, his mother fell dead from horror. It immediately became known throughout the city of Nicaea that Florence, the wife of Theodore, had died suddenly. Immediately a crowd of people gathered at the house of the deceased - men and women, neighbors and acquaintances, and everyone wondered what had happened to her, that she had died unexpectedly. Theodore, her husband, was in the field at that time. He was immediately informed of the sudden death of his wife. Having torn his clothes from grief, he hurried home, sobbing. The neophyte, meeting him at the gate, said: - Why are you mourning, father? My mother did not die, but fell fast asleep. Then, entering the house with his father, he took his mother’s hand and said: - Get up, my mother; you fell asleep soundly. She, getting up as if from sleep, hugged her son and kissed him with love. Seeing this, everyone who had gathered in the house glorified God. Florence told her husband in order everything that had happened to her in her dream and in reality. Then it became known that the miracle was that Neophyte brought water out of the stone. Everyone marveled at this, and many of the pagans who were there, hearing about all this and marveling at the grace of God that dwelt in the pure and immaculate youth Neophyte, believed in our Lord Jesus Christ. Meanwhile, the dove always appeared at the saint’s bed and, sitting on the bed, spoke in a human voice. One day he said to the saint: “Get out, Neophyte, from your father’s house and follow me.” The holy youth stood up, said goodbye to his parents and went after the dove. The dove, having brought him to Mount Olympus 876, to one cleft in the stone, flew into the cave located there. The neophyte, entering after him, found a huge lion there and said to him: “Get out of here and look for another cave, because the Lord commanded me to live here.” Hearing this, the lion licked the dust from his feet with his tongue and left. The saint remained to live in the lion's cave and was fed by an Angel. After one year, the saint, at the command of God, went again to the city of Nicaea to his parents, who were already close to death, and, giving them the last kiss, sent them to God, and he himself, having distributed the property left behind to the poor, returned again to Mount Olympus, to his former abode. There he remained all the time until he was fifteen years old, like an Angel, glorifying God and receiving food from the hand of an Angel. At this time, the tormentors Diocletian and Maximian 877 reigned in the East and West, and in the region of Bithynia Decius and his assistant Uar were the ruler. The Church of Christ was persecuted throughout the entire universe by wicked idolaters. Then Decius came to Nicaea, and his herald announced that all the citizens of the city and surrounding residents should gather to make sacrifices to the gods. A day was also appointed for this vile celebration. At the same time, the kings were also in the Bithynia region; they also arrived in Nicaea. When this demonic holiday came and sacrifices were made to idols, then the Angels of God, taking Saint Neophytos from Mount Olympus, placed him in the middle of the Nicene square, with an illuminated face, like Moses. The saint exclaimed loudly: – I revealed myself to those who did not seek me and I appear to those who do not ask about me, in order to expose the errors and deceptions of the wicked faith. The people celebrating the festival, and with them the ruler Decius, seeing a bright young man suddenly appearing among them, speaking loudly, were surprised and asked who he was and where he was from. And immediately the citizens learned that it was Neophytos, the son of Theodore and Florence. Then the governor Decius commanded that he, too, bring, together with them, a sacrifice to their gods. The saint opened his bold lips and began to say: – Lawless and bloodsucker, what are you doing, leading to the destruction of so many human souls? Don’t you know that for all those whom you bring to the demonic sacrifice, you will bear terrible responsibility and will suffer forever in fiery Gehenna? Governor Decius became terribly angry at this reproof and ordered the holy young man to be stripped and, hooked by the arm, hanged on a tree and beaten mercilessly with ox sinews, and then placed in vinegar mixed with salt. The saint bravely endured suffering and cried out in a loud voice to the people standing around: - Men obsessed with godlessness and suffering from blindness, repent and get rid of this darkness; come to the true light, Christ God, and dedicate yourself with holy baptism in order to be worthy of eternal life! The ruler, hearing such words of the holy youth, was filled with even greater rage and ordered to hang him again on a tree and plan his ribs with a knife. Thus tormented, Saint Neophytos did not say anything other than the words: - Son of God, have mercy on me! Then one of the ruler’s close associates appeared before him and said: - Why are you raging, Neophyte, opposing the royal command? Promise to make sacrifices to the gods, and you will immediately be freed from this cruel execution. – I offer a sacrifice of praise to the Heavenly God, but I will never bow to soulless idols and the demons living in them. Then the ruler ordered his servants to whittle the saint even more cruelly all over his body alternately. The servants, taking turns, whittled him mercilessly, so that his bones were exposed. The saint, strengthened by God, sang during these torments: “If I walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, since you are with me” (Ps. 22:4), Lord. The ruler, seeing that he was not getting anywhere, ordered to stop torturing the saint and take him down from the tree, and, consoling him, said: “Seeing your youth and sparing your health, I do not impose even greater torment on you, but I advise you to worship our gods.” Then the most skillful doctors will be sent to you by the kings, who will soon heal you from these wounds. – I have another Physician, my Master, the Lord Jesus Christ, for whom I suffer; I hope in Him. Then the ruler ordered to imprison him, tied up, in prison. The next morning the ruler went to the royal chambers and told the kings about Neophyte. “Yesterday,” he said, “I tortured, by tying up, one Christian youth, because he did not want to worship the gods.” However, he neglects torment and constantly calls on his Christ. The kings ordered that both this young man and all those who professed Christ be burned alive. Governor Decius and elder Uar left the royal chamber and came to a place called the “school of Hercules” 878. Royal images were placed here, and Decius ordered the young man Neophyte to be brought from prison. When the saint was brought, the ruler addressed him with the following words: - Neophyte, come and make a sacrifice to the god Hercules; then you will be pleasing to the gods, and to kings and us. – I pray to my God, Jesus Christ, that I may be pleasing and pleasing to Him. Then, by order of the tormentor, the furnace was heated to burn Saint Neophytos. He was thrown into the oven, and its opening was closed for three days and three nights, so that not even the bones of the martyr remained. But the holy martyr Neophytos, in the midst of the fire, cooled by the Divine dew, rejoiced as if in a calm place, chanting: “The Lord is my Shepherd; I will lack for nothing: He will make me lie down in green pastures” (Ps. 22:1-2). He remained completely unharmed, like the three Babylonian youths thrown into the oven (Dan.3). After three days the torturer’s servants came to open the oven and pour out the ashes; they thought that the furnace had gone out and the body of the martyr had burned. But as soon as they opened the hole, suddenly a huge flame erupted from the oven and burned many of the wicked who came there, so that hardly anyone remained unharmed. The saint exclaimed in a loud voice: “Blessed are You, Lord my God, who keeps me healthy and unharmed in the midst of torment, who delivers me from the wickedness of my tormentors, who turns fire into dew for me and burns me with a flame worthy of an eternal and unquenchable flame!” I pray to You, Master, do not disgrace me, Your servant, until the end, until I accomplish my feat with Your help. After this, the saint came out of the oven healthy, without receiving any harm from the fire. The wicked servants who remained from being burned by the flame took him and led him to the ruler. All the pagans were amazed at such a miracle and, in their wickedness, attributed it to sorcery, being themselves filled with demonic sorcery: malice blinded them, and they could not understand the power of Christ. Then the saint was condemned to be devoured by wild beasts. A raised platform was prepared; the naked saint was tied to a pillar fixed on it and a bear was released on him. The beast roared towards the saint, but as it approached, it stopped, looked at him and then returned to its place. The ruler and all those gathered at this spectacle were surprised at this. Then they released the most ferocious bear, who was only released into the lists twice a year, as she was very angry and killed many. She ran up, threw herself at the feet of the saint, honoring him as a saint of God, and then retreated to her place. When this happened, the shepherds brought to the ruler a huge and very ferocious lion, which, according to them, they caught in the desert five days ago and did not give food at all. The delighted ruler ordered this lion to be brought inside the lists, where the holy martyr was tied naked to a pillar. Everyone was horrified looking at this lion, as he was very large and fierce. The lion, approaching the saint, looked at him, stopped and bowed his head, shedding tears from his eyes, like rivers from springs, and then began to lick the saint’s feet. This was the lion that Saint Neophytos found on Mount Olympus, in a stone cave, and sent him to another place, settling in his cave. Recognizing him, the saint ordered him to return to his first home, on Mount Olympus, which he ceded to the saint; at the same time, the saint forbade him to ever harm people. The lion, bowing to the martyr, left him with a terrible roar, broke down the doors of the lists and quickly walked among the people. Everyone rushed to run, fearing the ferocity of the beast, but he did not touch anyone and ran into the desert, at the command of the saint, to his former place. The torturer, filled with fear and horror, and not knowing what else to do, ordered the martyr to be killed. There stood one beast-like and ferocious-tempered foreigner, who had a spear in his hands. He rushed at the saint and, hitting him in the chest with a spear, pierced him through. Thus the holy martyr Neophytos, slain as a lamb, gave up his soul into the hands of his Lord on the 21st day of January 879, having lived fifteen years and four months from his birth. Now he, inheriting endless life, glorifies the Source of life, Christ God, glorified with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever. Bithynia is the northwestern region of Asia Minor. Nicea - now Isnik - in ancient times a rich and prosperous city, now poor and sparsely populated. The I and VII Ecumenical Councils took place in Nicaea. Olympus is a mountain in Asia Minor, on the border between Phrygia and Bithynia. Diocletian - Roman emperor, reigned in the eastern half of the empire, Maximian - in the western half from 284 to 305. Hercules or Hercules is a hero of ancient Greek legends, who, according to the beliefs of the ancient Greeks, possessed supernatural strength, personified the physical strength of man and was subsequently revered by them as one of the most beloved gods. As the embodiment of physical strength, Hercules was revered as the head and patron of all gymnasiums (ancient Greek public schools in which special attention was paid to gymnastic exercises) and palaestra (schools for physical exercise, maintained by private individuals, where boys received physical development). These schools were usually dedicated to Hercules and decorated with his statues. Often these exercises and gymnastic and athletic competitions were carried out in the open air, in specially designated places dedicated to Hercules. St. Neophytos suffered and died as a martyr during the persecution of Diocletian, which took place in the years 303–305. You might be interested in: