Житие и страдание святого преподобномученика Анастасия Персянина

When the holy city of Jerusalem was taken by the Persian king Chosroes 895 and the holy places of residence of Christ our Lord, marked by His free suffering, crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection, were conquered by wicked barbarians - when the Life-giving Tree of the Cross of the Lord was taken captive and carried along with rich military booty 896 to Persia, then in this latter the glory of the name of Christ began, like the sun, shine in the miracles emanating from the Life-giving Tree of the Cross. Being itself in captivity, it captivated human souls to God, and like oud, catching people, drew them to Christ, enlightening them with the knowledge of the truth and inflaming their hearts with Divine love. Then the holy martyr Anastasius, about whom we are about to tell, turned to the knowledge of Christ. He was originally a Persian from the village of Rasnuni, located in an area called Razy. His original Persian name in paganism was Magundat. He was the son of a sorcerer named Vava, a very famous teacher of magical science in his country, which he taught his son to perfection in his early youth. When Magundat reached the age of a mature youth, he, along with many other youths, entered military service and remained in the capital city, serving the Persian king Khozroes. Having heard about the glory and power of the tree of the cross, which amazed all the Persian regions and frightened with extraordinary miracles, so that everyone said: “The Christian God has come to Persia,” Magundat began to diligently ask about it. Suddenly his soul was secretly ignited with the fire that Christ came to “bring down to earth” (Luke 12:49). Tirelessly, this beautiful young man turned to many with questions, wanting to know with certainty what kind of tree it was, which had such great miraculous power. When the believers explained to him that this was the same Cross on which Christ, the Son of God, confessed and revered by Christians, was crucified for the sake of saving the human race, then his inner desire to acquire the most perfect knowledge of the Son of God was even more inflamed. He posed question after question, and in the answers he found reasons for further research, burning with zeal to find out how God came down from heaven, how he became a man, why and by whom he was condemned to die on the cross, when he ascended again to heaven from where he came down. He listened to the Divine Mystery of the Incarnation of Christ presented to him by Christians, and his ears lovingly perceived the seed of piety, and his soul gradually grew a grain of faith and was excited to imitate Christ. Magundat had a relative in the flesh, and both of them were in the regiment of one glorious commander Sain. When the latter was sent with an army by the Persian king to war in the region of Greece and reached the glorious Christian city of Chalcedon 897, Magundat also came there, serving in the regiment with his relative. The pious Greek king Heraclius took up arms against the Persians in 898. Then the Persian commander Sain hastily returned with his regiment. Magundat, having left the regiment and his relative, preferred to live with Christians in poverty and obscurity rather than in wealth and honor in his fatherland among those ignorant of God. He first came to Hierapolis 899. There he found one man, a Persian by birth, a Christian by faith, and a goldsmith by trade. Having settled with him, Magundat studied the art of goldsmithing. His hands were turned to work, and his mind was constantly directed towards Christ God, with whose love he burned. He begged his teacher to prepare him for holy baptism; but his desire could not come true, for holy baptism was postponed indefinitely for fear of war on the part of the Persians. Meanwhile, often coming to church with his teacher to pray, he saw on the church walls paintings depicting the sufferings and miracles of the holy martyrs. He asked his teacher what does this mean? The teacher told him about the exploits and lives of the saints: how they courageously accepted death for Christ and zealously laid down their souls for Him, what they endured from tormentors for the sake of Christ and what rewards they received from Him in heaven. Listening to all this with attention, Magundat was surprised and horrified; his heart was even more inflamed with Divine jealousy. After staying in Hierapolis for some time, he went to Jerusalem to receive holy baptism there. Arriving in the holy city of Jerusalem, Magundat, later called Anastasius, stayed with a Christ-loving husband, also a goldsmith by trade. He revealed to him the desire of his heart - to unite with Christ through holy baptism. He led him to Saint Elijah, presbyter of the great Church of the Resurrection of Christ. Blessed Elijah, having received him with love, notified His Holiness Patriarch Modestus about him and, with his blessing, baptized the Persian Magundat, giving him the name of Anastasius in holy baptism, after which he kept him with him for eight days. Saint Elijah asked him: what kind of life does he want to choose for himself - worldly or monastic? Blessed Anastasius not only asserted with his words, but also with his meek disposition revealed that he desired monastic rank and life. Eight days later, when he took off the white clothes assigned to him at baptism, the presbyter sent him to one of the Jerusalem monasteries, in the tenth year of the reign of Heraclius. There he was entrusted to one wise and virtuous elder, who soon became the abbot of that monastery. From him Saint Anastasius learned not only the Greek language, but also an understanding of the Psalter and other sacred books, and also received instruction regarding many feats befitting monastic life. That is why he was loved by everyone, and especially by his mentor, who, based on the first experiences of his ascetic life, foreseeing his further passage, tonsured him as a monk and made him his spiritual son. Blessed Anastasius was a virtuous, humble, meek and hardworking monk. He willingly performed all monastic work - in the cookery, bakery, garden, as well as other obediences; at the same time, he never omitted church services or reading the rules. His hands were always busy with work, and his lips with glorifying God. In addition, he read the Divine Scriptures, the lives of the holy fathers, and especially the sufferings of the holy martyrs. Reading them, he watered the book with tears and, with a burning heart, revealed his inner sympathy for their patience. He himself seemed to suffer with them and inwardly imitated their jealousy, pleased their death and marveled at their courage, fervently praying to the Lord Christ to grant him the privilege of undergoing the same suffering for Him, dying in the same way and joining the ranks of the martyrs. Meanwhile, the enemy of the human soul, indignant at the fact that he was establishing himself in virtue, began to bring to his memory his former life in Persia, the wealth he left behind, glory, his father’s sorcery, military honors and other vanity, thereby wanting to confuse his peace of mind and turn him away from the monastery and from cohabitation with the holy fathers. But with the help of God, in whom Saint Anastasius had a strong affirmation against the enemy, as well as with the prayers and instructions of his teacher and spiritual father, to whom he confessed all his thoughts, he remained invincible and unshakable under all the temptations of the enemy. After the Monk Anastasius spent seven years in the monastery and collected an abundant spiritual treasure of virtues, he was called by the Lord to the crown of martyrdom with such a vision. Just before the onset of the bright holiday of the Resurrection of Christ, on the evening of Great Saturday, he lay down to rest a little after the day's work and, falling asleep, saw himself standing on a high mountain. A luminous man approached him, holding a golden cup decorated with precious stones and filled with wine. Handing him the cup, the husband said: “Take it and drink.” He took it and drank it. His soul was immediately filled with unspeakable joy, and even in his sleep he realized that this was for him a sign of the martyrdom he desired, to which the Lord was calling him 900. Waking up, he, filled with joy and merriment, hurried to the church for the beginning of the service of the Resurrection of Christ. There, calling aside, in the sacristy, his spiritual father and mentor, who was already the rector, he fell at his feet and, watering them with tears, begged him to pray for him to the Lord of all, Christ, since the day of his departure from this life was already close. He said: “I know, holy father, what kind of labors you undertook for me and how often I abused your fatherly concern for me. Thanks to you, my eyes saw the true light and through you I was freed from heavy darkness; do not cease to pray for me, your servant, to the most good Lord. The spiritual father told him: - What's wrong with you, my child? How did you know that these days you will move from us to another life? Anastasius told him about the dream vision with great tenderness and insistently asserted that in the coming days he would certainly die, either by a death common to all, or by some other; He was afraid to speak about his desire to die as a martyr for Christ, lest the elder forbid him this, and so that the flame of his zeal for Christ would not be extinguished, and he would not lose the crown of a sufferer. His spiritual father consoled him with kind words for a long time. When the day came, the Monk Anastasius partook of the Holy Mysteries during the Divine Liturgy and partook of a common meal with the brethren. The next night, having fallen asleep a little in the evening, he hastily got up, since the unspeakable inner desire for martyrdom did not allow him to sleep. Rising secretly from everyone, he left the monastery, taking nothing with him except the monastic clothes in which he was dressed. Upon leaving the monastery, Saint Anastasius went first to Diospolis in Palestine 901, and from there to a mountain called Charizim to pray. Having passed through many other wonderful areas, he came to Palestinian Caesarea 902 and stayed there in the Church of the Most Pure Mother of God for two days. Then he went to worship in the church of the holy and all-praised Great Martyr Euphemia, located in the same Caesarea. At this time, the Persians ruled Palestine, and there were many of them here. It happened to the blessed one, while passing by the house of a Persian, to see magic tricks performed by the Persians. Filled with Divine jealousy, he approached them and said with anger: – Why are you deluded yourself and, deceiving others, lead their souls to the same delusion? They were surprised at his courage and asked him: “Who are you to talk to us like that?” “And I once held the same delusion that you hold.” I was versed in this same wicked science and very skilled in deception. Saying this, the saint denounced their godlessness for a long time, and found out how disgusting their sorcerer’s cunning and seduction was to God and harmful to people. He explained to them how he achieved the knowledge of the truth and turned to God, and convinced them that, taking him as a model, they would also know the truth and, having abandoned sorcery, turn to Christ God with repentance. They not only did not want to listen to the words of the saint, but also persistently convinced him not to censure the magical knowledge so glorious among the Persians and not to expose them to the people. Then the saint, leaving them, went his own way, hastening to the holy church of the all-praised martyr. As soon as the saint walked away from them a little, he was seen by the Persian soldiers sitting at the gates of the courthouse. When the saint passed them, they, talking among themselves in Persian, said about him: The saint, understanding their words well, since he himself was a Persian, looked at them angrily and said: -What are you saying? I am not a spy, but a servant of my Lord Jesus Christ; I am much better than you, because I was honored to work for Him who deigned to come down from heaven for sinners. I understand your speech, because I myself was once in the same military service in which you are now a member. Then the soldiers seized him and reported him to their superior, who was in the courthouse. He, having questioned him about who he was and where he was from, ordered him to be kept under strict supervision in prison. Being imprisoned, the saint did not take food or drink for three days. He did not want to accept anything from the hands of the wicked, but was nourished only by the anticipation of the long-desired suffering for Christ. At this time, a Persian prince named Marzavan arrived in Caesarea in Palestine. Having learned about the venerable prisoner, he ordered him to be brought bound to his praetorium for interrogation. When the saint was brought, Marzavan was busy with various other matters, and the Monk Anastasius stood tied up at a distance. There was a Christian there. He, recognizing the saint, since he had seen him in the Church of the Most Pure Virgin Mary, approached him and quietly asked why he was taken, tied up and brought to trial. The saint told him about the desire of his heart, namely, that he wanted to suffer and die for Christ. Hearing about this, the Christian glorified the saint for his good intention and consoled him with the words of Divine Scripture, urging him not to be afraid of torment and not to be afraid of death for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, but to firmly and boldly answer Marzavan’s questions, remembering the words spoken by the Lord in the Gospel: “He who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 10:22). When the Monk Anastasius was then brought to trial before Marzavan, he did not bow to him and did not give him due honor. Meanwhile, the Persians had the custom of kneeling before their princes for the sake of their dignity. The saint did not do this, revealing his inner courage and greatness of spirit through outward non-worship and fearless gaze. Marzavan, looking at him intently, asked: – Who are you, where are you from and what is your name? “I am a Christian, and if you want to know about my origin, then I am a Persian, from the region of Raza, from the village of Rasnuni.” I was a sorcerer and a warrior, but I left the darkness and came to the true light; My name used to be Magundat, but now in Christian I am called Anastasius. - Leave this delusion and return to your former faith. I will give you horses and money and many other things. The saint, looking at him, said: “Let this not happen to me, O King Christ, that I should renounce You!” – Do you like these clothes that you are wearing now? – This robe is especially pleasant to me because it is Angelic; Moreover, it is more honorable for me than for you your rank. Marzawan, angry, said: “There is a demon inside you, and you say nothing other than what the demon teaches you.” “When I held on to Persian error and wickedness, then I had a raging demon within me, but now Christ my Savior dwells in me, casting out your demons.” Marzavan asked him: - What? Aren't you afraid of the king, who, when he finds out about you, will order you to be crucified? “Why should I be afraid of a person,” answered the saint, “who is as perishable as you?” Even if he kills my body, he will not be able to capture my soul by any means. Not being able to listen to such speeches, Marzavan ordered that iron chains be placed on the saint - one on his neck and the other on his legs - to take him to the stonemasons and force him, along with other prisoners, to constantly carry stones on themselves. There the blessed sufferer endured countless and severe hardships. Some who were in Caesarea from his homeland, from the same village of Rasnuni, Persians who were once familiar to him, friends and neighbors, seeing what happened to him, were ashamed of him and considered his labors a dishonor for themselves. They reviled the saint, saying: -What did you do? Why did you dishonor the former nobility of your origin by becoming a Christian, and brought such disgrace upon us? You are chained and condemned to death as a villain, which our eyes cannot see. No one from our country has ever been a Christian, and now you have caused us such a reproach. Saying such reproachful words, the wicked often laid hands on the innocent saint, beat him mercilessly, tormented his beard, tore his clothes, and not only inflicted such insults on him, but also laid such heavy stones on his shoulders and neck alone that four could barely carry them. So, bound with chains around his neck and legs and heavily burdened with stones, the saint of God worked. The saint experienced all kinds of oppression from his Persian acquaintances all the time, but he endured all this with joy for the sake of the name of Jesus Christ. After some time, Prince Marzavan again ordered the saint to be brought to him and asked him: “If you are truly the son of a sorcerer and know the art of sorcery, then tell us something from this area so that we can learn about your abilities.” “God forbid that anything like that comes out of my mouth!” I do not want to defile either my mind with the memory of magical tricks, or my tongue with speech about them. – Why do you remain a Christian? Return to your former faith; otherwise, know that I will report you to King Khozroes. - Do what you want. I think that you have already written to him and have already received an answer from him? “I haven’t written yet, but I want to write now, and whatever he commands me about you, I will do.” Saint Anastasius answered: - Write whatever bad things you want about me. I am a Christian, and I say again that I am a Christian. Then Marzavan ordered the saint to be stretched out on the ground and beaten until he agreed to do what he was commanded. But when the servants wanted to tie the martyr hand and foot in order to beat him, the saint said to them: “Leave me like this: there is no need to tie me up and hold me, for I do not want to suffer for my Christ unwillingly, but voluntarily.” I want to suffer for Him as much as someone thirsts for cold water on a hot day. Having said this, he made the sign of the cross and prostrated himself on the ground, surrendering to his wounds. Then they began to brutally beat him with sticks; but the saint turned to those beating him with the words: “Wait a little and take off my monastic robe; Let the monastic title not suffer humiliation! Beat only my naked body, but know that I take the wounds you inflict on me as a joke. For even if you break me into pieces, I will never deny my Lord Jesus Christ. But, even being beaten, naked, the saint courageously endured the torment, lying motionless and not restrained by anyone, but only by his good will to suffer for the sake of God, by which he conquered his very nature. The prince and everyone who was there were surprised at his patience, for during the long and painful beating he neither turned around, nor exclaimed, nor groaned. His mind was directed only to God, for whom he suffered. Then the prince ordered to stop beating the saint and again frightened him in the name of the king. “I will write,” he said, “to the king, and he will order you to be executed by death.” “Aren’t you afraid of the king?” - Why should I fear your king? Isn't he a mortal man like you? Will he not see the decay just as you do? Why do you tell me to fear him, the dust of the earth like you? Should I not fear more my Lord Jesus Christ, who made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them, incorruptible forever? Proud Marzavan, surprised by the martyr’s answer, ordered him to be taken to prison again. After a little time, he again called him to him and began to speak to him meekly, hoping to seduce him with kind words. He said to the saint: – Remember your magical science and make sacrifices to the gods so as not to die in pain and not lose this visible light. – To which god should I make a sacrifice: the sun, the moon, fire, sea, mountains and hills, or all the other elements? God forbid that I should ever bow down to your idols! For everything that I have listed was created by Christ, the Son of God, for the service and need of us people, rational creatures. You are mistaken when you serve demons and four-legged animals and every other visible creature, as if they were not created for our needs, but we were created for theirs. It’s strange and absurd that you call them gods! You were created in the image of God, and you do not know God, your Creator. If you knew Christ, who created you, you would turn to the true light and get rid of the power of demons. Saying this and much more, the saint surprised Marzavan and all the listeners. Marzavan, seeing that he could not defeat the saint either with caresses or threats, sent him back to prison until an order came from the king what to do with him. Thus, at night the martyr was kept in prison, and during the day he was taken in chains to work - carrying stones with other prisoners. Meanwhile, it became known about Saint Anastasia in the monastery where he took monastic vows. All the fathers and brothers, having heard that he was suffering grievously for Christ, were filled with unspeakable joy - especially the abbot, his spiritual father and teacher, who, imagining himself as if bound together with his beloved disciple, thought that he himself was suffering in his body. But since he himself could not go to his disciple, being the abbot of the monastery, he sent two monks with a letter full of consolation, instructing them to secretly visit the martyr and encourage him to courageously endure suffering. He himself, with the other fathers, day and night, prayed to God for him, so that God would help the martyr to suffer valiantly to the end for His name and to be a winner and crown bearer in the ranks of the holy martyrs. At the same time, the Venerable Martyr Anastasius, while in prison, did not stop praising the omnipotent God day and night. With him was another prisoner, a young man from Marzavan’s servants, convicted of some crime. He was chained together with the saint - with one chain around his neck, and with the other around his legs. This was too painful for the saint, since when he got up at midnight to pray, he was forced, against his will, to awaken his companion. He considered it a sin against his neighbor that he had disturbed him, who was too tired from the same day's burden, carrying stones, and then fell asleep sweetly. Therefore, very often wanting to perform midnight prayers, he did not dare to get up, so as not to awaken his friend and disturb his peace. Holding his leg next to his leg and bowing his neck to his neck, he performed his usual prayers to God. There were other prisoners there who remained unchained. Among them was one Jew, of honest birth and meek disposition. He, seeing Saint Anastasius, working during the day carrying stones, and spending the night in the praise of God, was surprised, saying to himself: “What kind of man is this and what will be his death?” One night, when the saint was praying, according to his custom, to God, this Jew, lying on the floor, did not sleep. Suddenly seeing light in the prison, he turned his eyes to the saint and noticed men entering him through the prison doors, dressed in white, shining clothes and surrounding the holy martyr. The great radiance emanating from them illuminated the entire prison with an indescribable light, which none of the prisoners saw, for everyone was asleep. Only that one, sleepless Jew looked at it intently and said to himself with great surprise: “Holy God, these are Angels!” Continuing to look more closely at those men, he saw omophorions and crosses in their hands. Then he thought: “These are bishops.” Then, looking at the holy martyr, he saw one bright young man standing before Anastasius with a golden censer filled with burning coals. Having placed incense in the censer, he burned incense around the martyr. Observing this, the awake prisoner woke up with his hand another prisoner sleeping near him, a Christian who had once been a Scythopolis judge. He wanted him to see such a wondrous and obvious miracle, but he could not wake him up soon, since he fell asleep in a deep sleep. When he was finally awakened, he woke up and asked what was the matter and why they woke him up, the Jew, pointing out to him what was happening, said: But as soon as he uttered this word, the vision disappeared. Then the Jew told the Christian with special delight and heartfelt emotion about everything he had seen, and both together glorified Christ God. Soon after this, Prince Marzavan, having received a reply letter from his king Khozroy, sent Anastasia to the venerable martyr in prison, saying: “The king commands you to say in one word: I am not a Christian, and you will immediately be released, after which you can go wherever you want: either to Christians and monks, or to your homeland - again to military service.” The Martyr of Christ answered: - Let it never happen to me that I renounce my Christ in mind or word! Then the prince again sent his deputy to the saint, saying: “I know that you are ashamed of many, especially your acquaintances, and therefore you do not want to renounce your Christ before them; but since the royal command must be fulfilled, for no one can disobey it, then, if you want, in private, only in front of me and my other two advisers, say that you renounce Christ, and I will immediately let you go. In fact, what loss will there be for you if you only express renunciation with your lips, but your heart, not agreeing with your lips, will believe your God? - Let this not happen to me! Neither before you nor before others will I renounce my Lord - neither openly, nor secretly, nor even in a dream, and no one will ever be able to force me to do this in any way. When the governor returned to the prince and announced what he had heard from the martyr, the prince ordered him to be brought to him and said to him: “The king ordered you, bound in chains, to be sent to him in Persia. The holy martyr Anastasius answered: “If you deign to let me go, then I myself, without chains, will go to your king.” What is the need to put chains on me, who suffers voluntarily and wants to endure for my beloved Christ the Master? The prince, seeing that in no way, either by kindness or by threats, could convert the martyr from the Christian faith to his Persian wickedness, he appointed him with two other prisoners, also Christians, convicted on some unjust charge, to be sent to Persia in five days for trial before the king, after which the saint was again taken to prison. At this time, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord was approaching. In this city lived one respected and noble man, a Christian by faith and life. He turned to Prince Marzavan with a request to release the monk Anastasius from prison to him for the holiday, so that he could celebrate this great celebration with the Christians. Marzavan, respecting the honorary citizen, ordered his request to be fulfilled, and Saint Anastasius was released to the Christians that day, however, in iron shackles. Having received him, this pious man led him to church, to the Divine Liturgy. For all believers it was a great joy and a double celebration to look at the martyr, surrounded by heavy shackles for Christ the Lord who suffered on the Cross. Surrounding him, men and women shed hot tears of joy and kissed his chains with tenderness, glorifying his suffering for Christ. After the Divine Liturgy was celebrated, the husband who interceded for him took him to his house with those two monks who were sent from the monastery to secretly console the martyr and provide him with food. Having cordially treated them, when the time came, he again took Saint Anastasius to prison. Five days later, the saint, along with two other prisoners in chains, was sent to Persia. He was seen off by many Christians with joyful tears. Those two monks also saw him off. One of them then returned to the monastery, and the other was ordered by the abbot to go with Blessed Anastasius in order to serve him, see his death and upon his return tell about the feats of suffering and martyrdom he had accomplished. Upon his arrival in Persia, the holy martyr Anastasius was put in prison in a city called Bethsalia 903, along with many other prisoners, among whom some were convicted of some crime, while others were captives, mainly Christians. The monk who arrived with him stayed with a certain Kortakt, the son of Esdin, and Esdin was the chief royal steward, a secret Christian. A few days later, King Khozroes sent one of the judges along with a tribune to interrogate Saint Anastasius. The judge, having come to the saint, asked: who is he, where is he from and for what reason, having left the Persian faith, he became a Christian? The martyr of Christ Anastasius answered him through an interpreter, since he no longer wanted to speak Persian, abhorring both the wicked faith of the Persians and the language itself. The saint said: – You are mistaken in worshiping demons instead of God. I, too, was once in this delusion of yours, but now I believe and worship the almighty Lord Jesus Christ, who created heaven and earth, the sea and everything that is in them. I know enough that your faith is the devil’s deception, leading you to destruction. - Oh, damned one! Did not the Jews crucify the Christ whom you revere? How did you fall into error, leaving your faith and becoming a Christian? “You say correctly that my Jesus was crucified by the Jews, but why don’t you also say that by His Divine will He deigned to be crucified for the sake of our salvation?” He is the Creator of everything, descended from heaven to earth and incarnate from the Most Pure and Blessed Virgin Mary through the action of the Holy Spirit. He was crucified voluntarily to save the human race from the deception of the devil. You revere the devil and worship the sun, moon, fire and every other creature, and not your Creator. - Why do you talk so much vainly? The king will immediately grant you great honors, give you golden belts, good horses and a lot of all kinds of property; you will be one of his noble dignitaries, just return to your former faith. Saint Anastasius objected to him: “The gifts of your king, wealth, honor and glory, and everything that is pleasant and desirable to you, I have long despised and hated. All this is disgusting to me, like rubbish and manure. Having chosen the monastic life and having loved it, I am nourished by the hope of eternal blessings, which, by the grace of Christ my God, I think I will receive. This honest monastic order and this old mantle serve as reliable guarantee of this for me. How can I now despise and renounce what I hope for and for which I have undertaken all my labor and exerted all my zeal? Can I be seduced by the gifts of a temporary king who is about to perish? Hearing this, the judge informed the king about everything. The king was filled with anger and ordered the saint to be tortured the next morning. When morning came, the same judge came from the king and, having brought the saint out of prison, first of all mercilessly beat him with sticks, and then, placing his legs between two heavy blocks and commanding strong men to jump on both ends of the upper block, he tried to crush them. Having tormented the saint for a long time and saw his inflexibility, the judge ordered him to be thrown into prison again, and he himself went to the king to report what had happened. The tribune, the prison governor, was a secret Christian. He served the prisoners suffering for Christ, showing them every mercy. He and the monk accompanying the saint, entering him in prison, consoled and encouraged the sufferer. Together with them came other believers in Christ, among other things, the sons of the above-mentioned Esdin, the royal steward, a secret Christian. They, falling at the feet of the martyr, kissed his chains and asked him to pray to the Lord for them. The saint, being humble, sent them away from himself, recognizing himself as a sinner and indecent in need of other people's prayers and help. Then they took the wax and applied it to his chains so that they would appear on the wax. They kept this wax for themselves as a blessing, for healing from various ailments, and also sent that wax to each other as a valuable gift. A little time later, the same judge, again sent by the king, came to the prison of the martyr of Christ and, having interrogated him, recognized him as an adamant opponent of the royal will: then he mercilessly beat the saint with sticks. The same thing happened a third time a few days later. The same judge, having come to prison, beat the saint, and then added a new fierce torment to this: hooking him by one arm and tying a huge stone to his leg, he hanged the saint. So the holy passion-bearer hung for two hours. Then, having removed the saint, he threw him into prison, and he himself went to the king to proclaim the invincible courage of the martyr. At the same time, he advised the king to quickly execute the saint, so that the great Persian kingdom would no longer be dishonored and vilified by one Christian. Fifteen days later, the king condemned the martyr Anastasius to death, along with many other prisoners who were with him in prison. On the eve of the day of his death, the holy martyr Anastasius, sitting in prison and foreseeing his approaching end, said to some of his fellow prisoners: “I, brothers, in the morning, along with many who are here, will die and pass from this life into eternity.” You will remain alive and after a few days you will be released, for this wicked king will soon be killed. When morning came, the judge came with soldiers and led up to seventy prisoners, among whom were mostly devout Christians, from prison to death along with Saint Anastasius. Among them were those two prisoners who, together with Saint Anastasius in chains, were brought to Persia from Caesarea, also Christians. Some prisoners were left in prison, including those for whom the saint predicted a quick deliverance and the death of the king. Those taken from prison to death were brought outside the city, to the river bank, and there, each one, one by one, hooked with a rope around the larynx, was painfully strangled. After strangling each one, the torturers turned to Saint Anastasius with the words: “Do you really want to die now like them?” Isn't it better for you to obey the royal will and, while still alive, receive gifts, honors and glory from the king? The saint, raising his eyes to heaven, thanked God, and answered them: “I would like to be broken into pieces by you for my Christ.” This death is insignificant for me, and I thank my Lord that with this small suffering He gives me the opportunity to move on to the great ineffable glory of the holy martyrs. So the holy martyr Anastasius, after all the prisoners, joyfully accepted death, being strangled on the 22nd day of January 904. In order to confirm the death of Anastasius before the king, the soldiers cut off his holy head and carried it to the king, and his body, along with the corpses of other strangled people, was thrown to be devoured by dogs. But the dogs, greedily devouring the corpses of others, not only did not touch the body of the saint, but also visibly began to guard it so that no one else would touch it. When the tribune, the prison guard, wanted to take the honorable body of the holy martyr, the soldiers guarding from afar did not allow him to do this, since many of them were Jews by faith. When night fell, the blessed monk, sent from the monastery to Saint Anastasius to witness his death, took slaves from the sons of Esdin, a lot of gold and clean shrouds and went to the place where the body of the saint lay unharmed among other corpses devoured by dogs. Filling the hands of the guards with gold, he approached the holy body of the Martyr of Christ, above which a bright star was visible, shining from the sky, and, taking it, carried it to the small monastery of the Holy Martyr Sergius, located not far from there. There he buried with honor the long-suffering body of the passion-bearer of Christ Anastasius, and he himself remained in the monastery until the murder of King Khosroes. When the king was killed, those prisoners to whom the saint had predicted this in prison before his death were also released. Thus, the saint’s double prophecy was fulfilled: about the imminent murder of King Khozroes and about the release of the prisoners. When the Greek army entered the Persian regions, the way became clear for the monk accompanying the saint to return to his monastery. He returned and told everything in detail about the Venerable Martyr Anastasia to the abbot and all the brethren. Everyone glorified God, who strengthened His servant for suffering. The abbot of the monastery immediately sent the same monk and some others with him, and they brought from there with honor the relics of his beloved disciple, the Martyr of Christ, to that monastery 905. From the relics of the holy martyr, many miracles were performed and healings of ailments were given - to the glory of Christ our God with the Father and the Holy Spirit, glorified forever. Amen. The Persian king Khozroes II reigned from 590 to 628. This was in 614. The shrine of the tree of the Holy Cross was in the hands of the Persians for 14 years until 628, when the Byzantine emperor Heraclius, after a happy war with Persia, returned it to Jerusalem. Chalcedon is a city in Asia Minor, on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus Strait, opposite Constantinople. The IV Ecumenical Council took place there in 451. The Byzantine Emperor Heraclius reigned from 610 to 641. Hierapolis is a rich city in Phrygia, the western region of Asia Minor. The word “cup” in biblical language and in the minds of ancient Christians is used to visually express suffering or trials intended for someone by God. Hence St. Anastasius took the cup he saw in a dream as an omen of the cup of suffering and painful death that he would soon have to drink. Diospolis is a city in Palestine northwest of Jerusalem. Caesarea is a Palestinian city on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, built by King Herod of Judea on the site of the ancient city of Straton and named after Caesar Augustus (Roman Emperor Octavius ​​Augustus). This city was subjected to repeated destruction, and now in its place there are only ruins covered with wild plants. Otherwise, Barseloe is Sergiopolis in Assyria, at a distance of about 8 miles from Dastager, where Khosroes was then located. St. Martyr Anastasius died as a martyr in 528. Subsequently, the relics of St. Saint Martyr Anastasius of Persian were transferred to Palestine, from here to Constantinople, and from Constantinople to Rome, where they are kept to this day (one part in one of the country monasteries, the other in the Church of the Holy Cross). 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